Real Madrid go top of LaLiga

Jude Bellingham netted his seventh goal of the season, propelling Real Madrid to the summit of LaLiga with a commanding triumph over high-flying Girona.

The opening goal materialized when Joselu expertly finished a sublime pass from Bellingham, with Aurelien Tchouameni nodding in the second for the visitors. Bellingham put the icing on the cake with a clever finish in the second half.

This victory propelled Madrid ahead of both Girona and Barcelona, the latter having defeated Sevilla earlier in the week.

Girona, the leaders at the start of the latest round of La Liga fixtures, began with great energy and created two prime opportunities to take the lead.

Yangel Herrera narrowly missed with a header from a central position in the box, while Viktor Tsygankov struck the outside of the post with a free header.

Gradually, Madrid found their rhythm and took the lead courtesy of a fantastic piece of skill from Bellingham, who skilfully set up Joselu with the outside of his right foot, allowing the former Stoke and Newcastle striker to finish with ease.

Tchouameni added Madrid’s second just four minutes later, capitalizing on a lack of marking from Toni Kroos’ in-swinging corner.

The home side came close to reducing the deficit early in the second half, but Kepa Arrizabalaga made a crucial save from David Lopez’s header, and Eric Garcia couldn’t convert the rebound.

Bellingham completed his brace with 20 minutes left on the clock, finding the far corner after Paulo Gazzaniga parried Joselu’s initial effort. Impressively, the 20-year-old became only the second player in the 21st century to score at least six goals in his first seven La Liga matches for Madrid, following in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009.

The match ended on a sour note for the visitors as Nacho was sent off in added time for a reckless challenge on Portu, who had to leave the field on a stretcher.

Carlo Ancelotti’s squad will travel to Napoli for their second Champions League group match on Tuesday.

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