Updated at 23.56

REAL MADRID cruised to a 4-1 win over Villarreal on Sunday to move top of La Liga but their night was tarnished when defender David Alaba suffered a serious knee injury.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side are a point ahead of Catalan minnows Girona, who host Alaves on Monday and will be looking to reclaim pole position.

Spain’s top scorer Jude Bellingham broke the deadlock for Madrid with his 13th league goal of the season before Rodrygo Goes doubled their lead.

Villarreal pulled one back through Jose Luis Morales, but Brahim Diaz scored a superb solo goal to restore Madrid’s advantage.

Luka Modric drove home the fourth as Madrid fans celebrated a sizeable victory in their final home match of the year.

Madrid’s joy was tempered by Alaba’s injury, confirmed by the club in a statement, saying the defender needs surgery.

The Austrian joins a long list of players out, including Thibaut Courtois, Eder Militao and Eduardo Camavinga, all with knee injuries, and winger Vinicius Junior among others.

Ancelotti said Alaba’s injury was “very sad” but praised his team’s performance.

“We think we are doing very well, it was one of our best games,” said the coach.

The highlight of the night was Diaz’s fine individual strike.

“It’s the kind of move I usually try, today it went in, so I’m very happy,” Diaz told Real Madrid TV.

“(I’m happy) for the team’s work, we did a great job today and I’m happy for the goal and for the win.”

Former Manchester City midfielder Diaz is striking up a fruitful relationship with Bellingham and Rodrygo in attack.

“We understand each other well, we all get along because it’s an incredible group, we are very united and you see that on the pitch,” he added.

Ancelotti put his faith in England international Bellingham to take an attacking role this season for Madrid and it is paying off in virtually every match.

The 20-year-old netted his 17th goal across all competitions in his 20th match this season to get the party started after Madrid saw rivals Barcelona, third, held at Valencia on Saturday.

- Comfortable triumph -

Madrid, playing at the renovated Santiago Bernabeu with the new roof closed for just the second time, made the early running against Villarreal.

They got their reward midway through the first half when Bellingham leapt high to nod home Modric’s delicious clipped cross.

After Alaba’s injury, sustained while trying to challenge Gerard Moreno, Rodrygo doubled the lead from close range.

It was the Brazilian’s eighth goal in his last eight games for Real Madrid, continuing his own superb goalscoring form of late after a slow start to the campaign.

Early in the second half, Villarreal pulled one back, with Morales finishing past Andriy Lunin, selected over Kepa Arrizabalaga.

But Diaz whisked the visitors’ hope away when he turned brilliantly away from Aissa Mandi in midfield, drove forward, swerved Jorge Cuenca and finished with ease.

After Modric added the fourth, Madrid fans brought out the ‘ole’ chants as their team passed the ball around an increasingly frustrated Villarreal.

Madrid now have 38 goals in La Liga, equalling Girona’s total as the top scorers to date.

Midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni made his return from injury as a substitute in the final stages for Los Blancos, who open up a seven-point lead on third-place Barcelona.

“It’s always good to build an advantage on Barca but there’s a long way to go in the league and we have to continue with this mentality,” said Rodrygo.

Marcelino’s Villarreal languish 14th, three points above the relegation zone.

Earlier Real Sociedad and Real Betis shared the spoils in an intense 0-0 draw on Sunday in La Liga.

Both teams lost ground on Athletic Bilbao, fifth, who beat fourth-placed Atletico Madrid on Saturday.

La Real, sixth, trail their Basque rivals by two points, while Betis, seventh, are five points behind Athletic.

Meanwhile, Harry Kane scored a goal in each half as Bayern Munich brushed off Stuttgart 3-0 on Sunday to stay four points behind Bayer Leverkusen, who beat Eintracht Frankfurt earlier by the same scoreline.

Leverkusen’s win meant the perennial German champions started seven points behind but Kane settled nerves by netting after two minutes, tapping home a pass from Leroy Sane.

Bayern lost midfielders Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich to flu just hours before the match and had only five outfield players on the bench but dominated a listless Stuttgart.

Bayern had two more goals struck off for offside in the opening half but Kane doubled up early in the second, heading in from close range from a free-kick.

Kim Min-jae was next to score, heading in from another set piece for his first goal in Bayern colours, sealing the game for the home side.

Bayern sit four points behind Leverkusen and have a game in hand, against 15th-placed Union Berlin, in January.

Kane’s double took him to 20 league goals from 14 matches so far this season — four clear of Stuttgart’s Serhou Guirassy, who was kept quiet by Bayern’s miserly defence.

 - Brilliant Boniface -

Earlier on Sunday, Nigeria striker Victor Boniface scored and laid on two assists as Leverkusen beat Frankfurt 3-0, continuing his side’s hopes of a maiden Bundesliga title.

Before the match, the Leverkusen fans unveiled a huge Christmas wishlist, calling on the club to make their Bundesliga title dreams come true.

“We’ve won nothing yet. After half a year nobody wins anything, especially not a league title,” Leverkusen midfielder Granit Xhaka said to DAZN.

“We’ve got another game midweek and then we go on holiday, where we need to be careful what we do. Then we’ll come back and step on the gas ahead of the rest of the season.”

Xabi Alonso’s unbeaten Leverkusen have won 21 and drawn three of 24 matches in all competitions this season.

Boniface squeezed a low shot under Kevin Trapp to open the scoring 14 minutes in.

The Nigerian then created Jeremie Frimpong’s goal early in the second half, his shot rebounding off Trapp and landing perfectly for the Dutch international to slam home.

The 22-year-old, who is almost certain to be selected for Nigeria’s Africa Cup of Nations bid in January, then helped seal the result, finding Florian Wirtz in space for Leverkusen’s third.

Wirtz, who was again superb while pulling the strings in midfield, hit the crossbar with 10 remaining.

Frankfurt have won just one of their past eight matches in all competitions — last Saturday’s surprising 5-1 home thrashing of Bayern.

Freiburg’s Michael Gregoritsch and Roland Sallai came off the bench to secure a 2-0 home win over 10-man Cologne.

Dogged but outclassed, Cologne fought hard but were reduced to 10 men with just over half an hour remaining when Jeff Chabot swept Lucas Hoeler’s legs out from under him, picking up a second yellow.

Hoeler was replaced by Gregoritsch and the 1.93-metre tall Austrian had Freiburg ahead shortly after.

Gregoritsch was first to a loose ball in the Cologne box, slamming home to set his side on course for their seventh win of the season.

Gregoritsch has now scored in his past league three games, having broken a goal drought which dated back to April.

“I just keep scoring,” a thrilled Gregoritsch told DAZN.

“I’ve been in the right place at the right time… of course my self-confidence is coming back a little.”

Sallai, who was also brought on with Gregoritsch, scored in the fifth minute of added time to seal the result.

– © AFP 2023