Real Madrid win big in La Liga despite Bellingham's absence

Spain Brazilian striker duo Rodrygo and Vinicius scored twice to help Real crush Valencia 5-1 in round 13 of La Liga.

Having picked up an injury in the 0-0 draw with Rayo Vallecano on November 5, Jude Bellingham sat out the 3-0 win over Braga in the Champions League in midweek and was again left out of yesterday's game against Valencia. In addition to the English midfielder, Real are also without Arda Guler, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Aurelien Tchouameni, Dani Ceballos, Eder Militao, Thibaut Courtois due to injury, while Antonio Rudiger is suspended.

Therefore, coach Carlo Ancelotti continued to put Brahim Diaz in the attacking position behind the duo Rodrygo and Vinicius. Federico Valverde, Toni Kroos, Eduardo Camavinga combined in midfield, and Luka Modric was on the bench.

Despite not having the strongest squad, Real still played brilliantly at the Bernabeu. The royal team controlled the ball 56% of the time, had 16 shots with seven on target - compared to 10 and 4 for Valencia.

Carvajal (No. 2) opened the scoring in Real's 5-1 win over Valencia in round 13 of La Liga on November 11. Photo: AFP — Carvajal (No. 2) opened the scoring in Real's 5-1 win over Valencia in round 13 of La Liga on November 11. Photo: *AFP*

In the 3rd minute, from a long pass from Toni Kroos, Dani Carvajal controlled the ball with his right foot, causing Jose Luis Gaya to slip, then volleyed with his left foot from outside the box to the near corner, defeating goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili. Not counting free kicks, Carvajal is the first Real defender to score from outside the box at the Bernabeu in La Liga since Marcelo against Valladolid in October 2009.

In the 42nd minute, Rodrygo broke down the right wing and crossed for Vinicius to fly and chest the ball to double the lead. Early in the second half, the Brazilian striker completed his double with a solo performance, dribbling from near midfield to the edge of the penalty area and finishing into the near corner, beating Mamardashvili. Vinicius has scored six goals in nine La Liga games against Valencia, equaling Levante's six goals in seven games. This is the 23-year-old's best scoring record against a single opponent in La Liga.

After Vinicius' goal, Valencia kicked the ball back to Mamardashvili. The Georgian goalkeeper made a mistake, allowing Rodrygo to cut in at the edge of the box and put his right foot in to make it 4-0.

Rodrygo (white shirt, left) raised the score to 4-0 for Real. Photo: AS

In the 84th minute, the Brazilian striker also completed his double by turning the ball past his compatriot Gabriel Paulista and then shooting with his left foot diagonally past Mamardashvili. Thanks to that, Rodrygo became the first player to have a hand in four goals in a La Liga match this season, with two assists for Vinicius and two goals.

Subsequent efforts only helped Valencia to pull one goal back through Hugo Duro. With the 5-1 victory, Real continued to stand second in La Liga with 32 points, two points behind Girona - who beat Rayo Vallecano 2-1 in the earlier match. Barca are third with 27 points and will face Alaves today.

Line-up :

Real : Lunin, Mendy (Garcia 71), Nacho, Alaba, Carvajal (Martinez 82), Camavinga, Kroos, Valverde (Modric 60), Diaz (Vazquez 71), Vinicius (Joselu 82), Rodrygo.

Valencia : Mamardashvili, Gaya (Gasiorowski 55), Paulista, Mosquera, Correia (Foulquier 55), Pepelu (Yaremchuk 70), Guerra, Lopez, Canos (Guillamon 64), Perez (Gonzalez 70), Duro.

Hong Duy

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