Jude Bellingham made it 20 goals for the season as he and Vinicius Junior teamed up to put Girona to the sword and send Real Madrid five points clear at the top of the LaLiga table.
The England midfielder scored twice with both set up by Vinicius, who had opened the scoring before Rodrygo wrapped up a 4-0 win with a fine run and finish. Substitute Joselu also missed a late penalty.
It was just surprise package Girona’s second defeat of the league campaign, with the first also coming at the hands of Carlo Ancelotti’s men, and it was every bit as comprehensive as the scoreline suggests.
With visiting head coach Michel banned from the touchline following his dismissal for leaving his technical area during last weekend’s draw with Real Sociedad, and opposite number Ancelotti forced to field a makeshift back four with injuries biting hard into his resources, there was an air of uncertainty around the Bernabeu Stadium as the game kicked off.
However, the fears of the locals were settled within six minutes when Vinicius picked up possession wide on the left, cut inside Ivan Martin and curled an unstoppable right-foot shot across keeper Paulo Gazzaniga and inside the far post.
With Toni Kroos dictating play, Madrid continued to look the more threatening and Girona skipper Juanpe was mightily relieved to concede a free-kick on the edge of the box rather than a penalty after he had rudely interrupted Eduardo Camavinga’s blistering 21st-minute run towards goal.
Federico Valverde curled the resulting set-piece straight into Gazzaniga’s arms, but there was little let-up in the home side’s efforts to build upon their encouraging start.
Bellingham dragged a 32nd-minute shot wide, but made amends within three minutes when he ran on to Vinicius’ superb ball behind Eric Garcia and rounded Gazzaniga to make it 2-0.
Vinicius scuffed wide after being played through as the whistle approached, but the sides headed for the dressing rooms with the hosts very much in the driving seat.
The visitors, who had offered little before the break, returned in determined mood and it took a last-ditch clearance by Ferland Mendy to cut out Miguel Gutierrez’s inviting cross as they finally started to make an impression going forward.
However, their hopes suffered a further blow within nine minutes when Vinicius cut in from the left and saw Gazzaniga parry his shot straight to Bellingham, who tapped into the empty net.
The Englishman’s evening ended prematurely with 57 minutes gone when, having earlier turned an ankle, he was replaced by Brahim Diaz.
His team did not feel his loss, however, and Rodrigo extended their lead within four minutes, accepting Vinicius’ pass before racing away to fire emphatically past Gazzaniga.
It should have been 5-0 at the death, but Joselu struck the post with a penalty awarded for Yan Couto’s foul on Arda Guler.
Croatia 2-1 Scotland: Kramaric rounds off comeback as visitors denied by late drama
Andrej Kramaric's 70th-minute header was enough for Croatia to clinch a 2-1 victory over Scotland, with the visitors denied a last-gasp equaliser.
The forward completed the comeback after Igor Matanovic cancelled out Ryan Christie's opener, but Kristijan Jakic's blushes were spared as his last-second own goal was disallowed for an offside against Che Adams.
In a fairly even first half, Christie got the breakthrough, latching onto Luka Sucic's sliced attempted clearance, and bundling the ball over the line with help from Duje Caleta-Car.
However, just under four minutes later, Croatia were back on level terms as Ivan Perisic cushioned the ball to Matanovic, who drilled his low shot into the bottom-right corner.
The hosts upped the pressure after the break, and Sucic thought he had given them the lead, only to have his goal chalked off for a foul in the build-up.
And they got their reward when Craig Gordon pushed away Borna Sosa's volley, with Kramaric on hand to nod it in from close range when it looped into the air.
Adams had already sent a looping effort wide of the far post in his search for an equaliser and thought he had finally got it after pressuring Jakic into poking it over the line. However, he had done so from an offside position so VAR ruled it out, and Scotland were denied a first point this Nations League campaign.
Data Debrief: Scotland suffer more late heartbreak
Late drama seems to follow Scotland everywhere in this competition at the moment - they lost their first two games in the competition due to late goals despite putting up a fight.
As such, Scotland extended their longest winless run in competitive matches in their history (P9 D3 L6), while they have now lost four consecutive games for the first time in five years, last doing so in October 2019.
The match-winner, Kramaric, scored his 30th goal for Croatia on his 99th appearance, with more than half of these (16) coming since he turned 30, while he has scored twice as many goals (eight) than any other Croatian player since the start of 2023.
'It certainly doesn't help' - Eidevall fails to concede Arsenal title hopes after Chelsea loss
Jonas Eidevall failed to concede Arsenal's hopes of winning the Women's Super League title after falling to a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea at the Emirates on Saturday.
The defeat leaves Arsenal in sixth place in the early-season standings having taken just five points from their opening four games of the season.
Mayra Ramirez and Sandy Baltimore handed the visitors a two-goal advantage early on, with Caitlin Foord's fine individual effort before half-time proving to be just a consolation.
It brought an end to a dismal week for Eidevall, having watched his side lose their Champions League opener 5-2 to Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
"It certainly doesn't help, but as I said before, the only way is to go game by game," Eidevall said on his side's hopes of winning the title after their poor start to the campaign.
"We are disappointed with the result and the start today, but I am very proud of the heart that the players showed."
But following Chelsea's first two goals, it was Arsenal who were in the ascendency, creating the better of the chances in north London but failing to make them count.
The Gunners registered 20 attempts during the contest, but only four of which were on target, rarely troubling visiting goalkeeper Hannah Hampton for the most part.
Though Arsenal find themselves already four points behind the early-season pacesetters, Eidevall still believes he is still the right man to lead the Gunners forward.
"I gave my absolute everything. You can see that the players certainly gave everything on the pitch too, and that is the thing you can control," Eidevall said.
"I think the way that the players played with the heart on the pitch, I can't ask for anything more," he added when asked if he had the backing of his players.
"It showed in the way that they played that they were giving their absolute everything on the pitch."
Chelsea, meanwhile, continued their fine start under Sonia Bompastor, building on their impressive win against Real Madrid in midweek with a triumph over their fierce rivals.
But it was anything but comfortable for the Blues, who managed an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.35 from their efforts during the second half.
"For sure it was a tough game, we were expecting that. It's always good to win, three points are three points," Bompastor said.
"But I wish my team were able to play the ball better in the second half. The quality of the players we have, we should be able to produce more.
"Good moments, we need to enjoy them and have fun."
Ederson lauds 'sometimes annoying' Guardiola
Ederson says it is an honour to be a part of Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, though admitted the manager can be "sometimes annoying".
The goalkeeper joined City in June 2017 and has since kept 113 clean sheets in 257 Premier League appearances, more than any other goalkeeper in the competition since his debut.
He has won 15 major trophies with City, including six Premier Leagues, two FA Cups and a Champions League title, as well as the UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup under Guardiola.
While on international duty with Brazil, Ederson attended an event for Children's Day and was asked if Guardiola was nice, annoying or angry by one child.
"You're going to get me in trouble," Ederson told ESPN Brasil. "He's all three.
"He's a nice guy, he's sometimes annoying, in the sense of [being] demanding, because he has to [be] demanding to a professional [player], and he's also angry when he has to be angry.
"So he has a mixture of all three. But he's a nice guy off the pitch, and he's a very, very demanding guy on it. And he's also a guy who gets angry like any other person, like any other coach, when things don't go well or when the team doesn't play well.
"Of course, we know that we're not going to be able to play 70 games at a brilliant level. Of course, in one game or another, there's going to be a dip."
Under Guardiola, City became the only English club in history to hold all five trophies – Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, Super Cup and Club World Cup – in a calendar year (in 2023).
In the English top-flight, Guardiola has overseen 311 games since July 2016, winning 230 of those (D43 L38). He has a 73.95% win percentage in the competition and averages 2.36 points per game.
And Ederson believes the Spaniard, who has been named the Premier League manager of the season five times, has changed football in the competition.
"I've been able to play a big part in the project," he said. "You take everything Guardiola has built up with the group, with the squad and everything he's been able to reformulate practically.
"You see every Premier League game today, how the teams try to play more football, have more possession. It's completely different from when he arrived.
"So to be able to be part of this project and achieve everything I've achieved, I feel very honoured, it really is a childhood dream."
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