Real Madrid 4-0 Osasuna: Vinicius nets hat-trick as Real return to winning ways
Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr scored a hat-trick to help the LaLiga champions win 4-0 against Osasuna on Saturday, snapping a two-game losing streak across all competitions.
Following shock defeats by Barcelona and AC Milan, their first back-to-back home losses in almost three years, Real suffered two big early setbacks against Osasuna, with attacker Rodrygo and defender Eder Militao both forced off injured.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti summoned Morocco striker Brahim Diaz and 21-year-old academy defender Raul Asencio off the bench, and his team remained cool, led by a great performance from Vinicius.
The Brazilian attacker opened the scoring in the 34th minute, receiving a Jude Bellingham pass in stride, beating the offside trap, and blasting a powerful strike past Sergio Herrera.
Eight minutes later, Bellingham scored his first goal of the season, lobbing the ball over the goalkeeper to extend Real's lead.
Real's stand-in right defender Lucas Vazquez was also forced off, but Vinicius extended the lead in the 61st minute, running on to a long pass from goalkeeper Andriy Lunin before rounding Herrera and tapping into an empty net.
Eight minutes later, Diaz snatched the ball from a distracted defender on the edge of the box and set it up for Vinicius to score his second hat-trick in four games, securing a comfortable victory.
Vinicius is now second in LaLiga's top scorers list, with eight goals in 12 games, six behind Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski.
Real moved up to 27 points, six behind leaders Barcelona. Osasuna are fifth with 21 points.
"I don't want to touch this subject (the injuries), because it hurts me to see colleagues crying... It breaks my heart..." Diaz, who missed over six weeks this season with a thigh injury, told Real Madrid TV.
"We won convincingly," Diaz added. "We played a complete game, with hard work and effort. The victory was needed. Now we have to continue at this high level, because we have talent."
SportsLigue