Madrid thrash Villarreal to go top of the table

Real Madrid took all three points in their final game of 2023 at the Santiago Bernabéu. They ran riot against Villarreal to head back to the summit with Girona yet to play Alavés, and extended their unbeaten streak on home turf (11).
Bellingham's remarkable run in front of goal continued (13 in 15 matches), alongside Rodrygo, who made it 2-0 before half-time. Morales cut the deficit in the second half but Brahim crafted a delightful move to recover the two-goal advantage and Modrić then made it 4-1.

Madrid flew out of the blocks and were causing problems from the off. First, Valverde fired just over from the edge of the box before Jörgensen kept out a Bellingham header inside 7 minutes. Ancelotti's boys were looking relentlessly for the opener and nearly found it seven minutes later. Kroos sent a lovely ball over the top for Brahim, who took it down nicely with his chest but the outstretched hand of the goalkeeper kept the net from bulging. Modrić was the next to try his luck from the edge of the area but his fierce right-footed effort crashed back off the crossbar (23’).

Bellingham and Rodrygo on fire
Madrid were in a dominant mood and it wasn't long before their efforts would get their just reward. Lucas Vázquez fizzed a pass from the right into Modrić, who flicked it over the top first time for Bellingham to run on and place a perfect header beyond the goalkeeper to make it 1-0 (25’). The evening's bad news arrived minutes later with an injury to Alaba. Nacho came on to replace him and Madrid picked up where they left off, doubling their lead before the break. Modrić whipped in a corner and Rodrygo pounced on a loose ball to fire past Jörgensen with his left. The linesman ruled the goal out for offside but following a VAR review, the referee decided it should stand.

The teams came out for the second half and Villarreal soon got a goal back through Morales (54’). However, Ancelotti's team were swift in their response, first as Lucas Vázquez threaded a ball through to Rodrygo, whose toe-poke was blocked by the visiting shot-stopper. As they settled into their rhythm again, Real Madrid began to look more like the team we had seen before the break. That's when Brahim put on a wonderful show of skill to make it 3-1 with 64 on the clock. He slipped past Mandi in the middle of the park with a neat turn and drove towards the box. He then left Cuenca in a spin with a sublime touch and finished beautifully when through one-on-one against Jörgensen.

Modrić adds the gloss
Shortly afterwards, it was 4-1. Rüdiger won the ball back in opposition territory and sent it in behind for Rodrygo, who was brought down by Capoue in the box but Modrić was quickest to the loose ball and slotted home with his left foot. Another positive from the evening was a return for Tchouameni after 50 days out with injury. Our team were sensible in managing the fatigue in the closing stages, having treated the home fans to an exhibition in the last game of 2023 at the Santiago Bernabéu.