Harry Kane racked up his 20th Bundesliga goal in a record 14 games as he fired Bayern Munich to a 3-0 win over Stuttgart on Sunday.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the exploits of the England captain – and his international team-mate Jude Bellingham, who scored again for Real Madrid the same night.

Kane shatters record

Kane’s double against Stuttgart took him to 20 goals in the German top flight 50 per cent quicker in terms of matches than the previous record, held since the Bundesliga’s inaugural season in 1963-64 by Uwe Seeler.

The late Hamburg and West Germany striker scored 20 in his first 21 league appearances for his hometown club and 30 in 30 that season, taking his Hamburg tally to 297 in 267 games after several prolific years in the Oberliga Nord before the formation of the new national top flight.

His record came under threat in 2020 from another name familiar to Premier League fans as Erling Haaland made a mid-season move to Borussia Dortmund from Red Bull Salzburg. The Norwegian scored 11 in 15 games in the remainder of that season and began 2020-21 with 10 in seven.

He therefore missed out on Seeler’s record by one game before passing 20 in style with four in a 5-2 win over Hertha Berlin.

Kane, though, has produced an unprecedented start.

He netted on his Bundesliga debut against Werder Bremen and scored twice against Augsburg before being shut out by Borussia Monchengladbach.

A goal against Bayer Leverkusen made it four in four games, followed by a hat-trick against Bochum. Goals against RB Leipzig and Mainz took him to nine in eight games.

He scored eight in his next three, successive hat-tricks against Darmstadt and Dortmund and a brace against Heidenheim, and also scored against Cologne before Sunday’s historic double.

In all he has three hat-tricks and three doubles and has scored in 11 of his 14 league appearances. Four Champions League goals take his Bayern total to 24 in 21 appearances.

The last man to score 20 goals or more in the first half of a Bundesliga season was Kane’s predecessor in Bayern’s number nine shirt, Robert Lewandowski, who had 22 in 2020-21 and went on to score 41 in the season – breaking Gerd Muller’s Bundesliga record of 40, also for Bayern in 1971-72. Muller in 1968-69 was the only other player to reach 20 by this stage.

Golden Boy Bellingham

Bellingham’s form this year earned him Tuttosport’s Golden Boy award in November and the Kopa Trophy at October’s Ballon d’Or ceremony, awarded respectively to Europe and the world’s best young player.

A stunning start to his LaLiga career has raised the possibility of the 20-year-old pushing for the main Ballon d’Or award in future seasons, with Sunday’s opener in Madrid’s 4-1 win over Villarreal being his 17th goal in 20 appearances for the Spanish giants.

That includes 13 in 15 league games, with doubles against Almeria, Osasuna and bitter rivals Barcelona, the latter to earn a last-minute Clasico win after Barca had led 1-0.

He has also scored Champions League goals against Union Berlin, Braga and in both meetings with Napoli to further justify his claim to Zinedine Zidane’s old number five shirt at the Bernabeu.

Jonny Evans was pleased by Manchester United’s hard-fought, morale-boosting point at Liverpool as Erik ten Hag’s men blocked out the memories of last season’s 7-0 Anfield annihilation.

Pressure and scrutiny has increased as the Dutchman’s difficult second season has worn on, with last weekend’s 3-0 home humbling by Bournemouth the nadir of a wretched campaign.

A lifeless 1-0 home loss to Bayern Munich followed on Tuesday night, with United exiting the Champions League and European football just days before a daunting trip to in-form rivals Liverpool.

Jurgen Klopp’s men had won every home match this season and had 34 attempts on Sunday, but Andre Onana pulled off eight saves as the visitors dug deep to secure a much-needed 0-0 draw.

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“We’ll take the point,” experienced centre-back Evans said. “I think we are obviously seventh in the league at the moment, but we were eighth going into the match. Liverpool were top.

“It was a hard-fought point. They dominated the game in terms of being around our box, but we probably had two of the best chances.

“I’ve played games here where you have to grind it out. You don’t always come to Anfield and play well.

“I’ve been a part of this club in the past – even back then, in 2013, we got a win here but the game was very difficult. You have to grind it out.

“It’s a battle, really. It is a game of moments, big moments in the game. We’ll come away, take the point, and move on.”

Sunday match was United’s first trip to Anfield since March’s 7-0 thumping – the largest defeat for either side in this fixture.

Evans was among the United fans watching through his fingers on that occasion and, having returned to the club over the summer, said the whole squad put that loss to the back of their minds.

“I think you block it out by not listening to that,” the 35-year-old academy product said.

“I think we have our own responsibilities going into the game and every game is a chance to win. We always go into every game thinking we are going to win.”

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk certainly did not believe that judging by his comments after a frustrating afternoon, claiming only one team tried to win and United were “buzzing” with a point.

“It is their home patch, they’ve got a good record here and they are playing well,” Evans said.

“They are at the top of the league, they’ve got some dangerous players. We’ll take the point, we defended our box well and move on from it.”

Evans impressed alongside Raphael Varane in the heart of an injury-hit defence, with Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Lisandro Martinez and Tyrell Malacia ruled out for a game that ended with Diogo Dalot’s sending-off.

“When you are defending on the edge of your box, there are always fine margins at that point,” he said.

“When you come away with a clean sheet after defending like that, it is always enjoyable.”

Asked if this can be the start of something, Evans said: “I think you can take this game in isolation, Man United versus Liverpool is a big match.

“I think we can take the fact that we have been able to defend our box as something we have probably… in the last three or four weeks when we have had to defend our box, we haven’t done that well enough.

“It is something we have discussed, so we take that out of it. Take confidence from it.”

David Raya believes his battle with Aaron Ramsdale to be first-choice goalkeeper at Arsenal has made them both better players.

Spain international Raya is currently Mikel Arteta’s preferred option between the sticks and he became the first goalkeeper this season to keep a Premier League clean sheet against Brighton as the Gunners won 2-0 on Sunday to go top of the table.

Second-half goals from Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz secured the points for Arsenal, with Raya returning in goal after Ramsdale played in the 1-1 Champions League dead-rubber group game against PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday.

Since breaking into the side in September, Raya has unquestionably become Arteta’s number one as debate and argument reigns over who should fill the position long-term.

Raya, though, feels the fierce competition has improved both himself and England international Ramsdale.

Asked if the battle has made him a better goalkeeper, Brentford loanee Raya replied: “Of course, and I think I have made him a better goalkeeper.

“I think that battle – I wouldn’t say battle, it’s just pushing each other in training, trying to help each other.

“If we see with each other when we are training that we can help each other, that’s how we are and that’s how we do. That’s the GK union that from the outside that you see.

“He is a top, top goalkeeper and a top, top team-mate. I hope he can say the same about me! We are team-mates, we are fighting for one position.”

Next up for Arsenal is a trip to face Liverpool at Anfield in a game where victory would put some space between the sides at the top of the table – where Aston Villa also feature after their comeback win over Brentford.

“Of course it is a massive game for any of the top teams playing against Liverpool away from home,” added Raya.

“I think comparing the last time I played there with Brentford and what we are going to face on Saturday is completely different. I think obviously they (the fans) will be more on top of us now, especially as we are fighting to be on top of the Premier League.

“It is going to be very, very important but we don’t have to focus on the atmosphere. We have to focus on ourselves and the football, and win the match.”

Brighton, meanwhile, will be looking to recover from one of their worst performances of the campaign to date.

Roberto De Zerbi’s visitors managed just one shot on target at the Emirates Stadium as they were roundly beaten – with captain Lewis Dunk calling for a response against rivals Crystal Palace on Thursday.

“I think obviously, we’re disappointed,” he said.

“We had to do the dirty side of the game, where we usually control the game and have plenty of the ball but Arsenal stopped us doing that. We’ve just got to brush ourselves down, we’ve got a massive game on Thursday and we need to move on.”

Holders Manchester City will face FC Copenhagen in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Arsenal, the current Premier League leaders, will take on Portuguese side Porto in the first knockout round.

The ties, the first legs of which will take place over two weeks in February 2024, were confirmed after the draw at the Swiss headquarters of organiser UEFA in Nyon on Monday.

City played Copenhagen – who came through a group that included Manchester United – in the early stages last season, winning 5-0 at the Etihad Stadium and drawing 0-0 in Denmark.

Pep Guardiola’s side, who are currently in Saudi Arabia for the Club World Cup, qualified this time with a 100 per cent record in Group G.

Arsenal were also convincing winners of Group B on their return to the competition after a six-season absence.

Their opponents Porto came through as runners-up to Barcelona in Group H.

Spanish champions Barca, meanwhile, were handed a tough task against Serie A winners Napoli.

In the other ties, record 14-time winners Real Madrid were paired with RB Leipzig and their city rivals Atletico drawn against Inter Milan.

Paris St Germain will play the fourth Spanish side in the draw, Real Sociedad, with the two German teams, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, tackling Lazio and PSV respectively.

As winners of their groups, City and Arsenal will play the first legs of their ties away.

The first legs will take place on February 13, 14, 20 or 21 with the return matches on March 5, 6, 12 or 13.

Holders Manchester City will face FC Copenhagen in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Arsenal, the current Premier League leaders, will take on Portuguese side Porto in the first knockout round.

The ties, the first legs of which will take place in February 2024, were confirmed after the draw at the Swiss headquarters of organiser UEFA in Nyon on Monday.

Brighton and Liverpool both saw their long scoring streaks ended on Sunday, leaving Tottenham to chase the Premier League’s records.

Here, the PA news agency looks at how the trio compare to the best of the Premier League era.

Brighton’s wings finally clipped

The Seagulls’ 2-0 defeat to Arsenal ended a 32-game scoring run and a Premier League record 20 consecutively in which they had both scored and conceded.

The latter sequence covered every fixture this season and the final four of last term, since their clean sheet in May’s 3-0 win over the Gunners.

The last time they had failed to score was way back in February, a 1-0 defeat at home to Fulham, with that 32-game stretch marking the fourth-longest in the Premier League.

Arsenal themselves hold the record, 55 games from May 2001 to November 2002 which covered the last game of 2000-01, the entirety of their 2001-02 title-winning season and the first 16 games of the following campaign’s second-placed finish, before losing 2-0 to Manchester United who went on to win the league.

United had a scoring run of 36 games from December 2007 to November 2008, matched by Liverpool between March 2019 and February 2020 for a distant second place behind Arsenal, with Brighton next up under impressive manager Roberto De Zerbi.

Brighton scored 66 goals in those 32 games, winning 15 and drawing eight with nine losses.

Spurs left standing

Liverpool were held to a goalless draw by Manchester United in Sunday’s late game to halt their own scoring run at 26 games.

Since another 0-0 in April against Chelsea, Jurgen Klopp’s side had scored 63 goals across 18 wins, seven draws and one defeat before their 34 shots proved insufficient to break down a stubborn United side at Anfield.

That leaves Spurs as the only side whose current scoring streak stretches to double figures, and at 29 games after beating Nottingham Forest 2-0 it ranks joint-fifth in Premier League history.

Manchester City also had a run of 29 between December 2018 and September 2019, before a shock 2-0 home defeat to Wolves, with Spurs losing 1-0 to the same opponents before embarking on their current run.

Beginning in March in Antonio Conte’s penultimate match in charge and continuing through the chaotic end to last season, under the caretaker stewardship of first Cristian Stellini and then Ryan Mason, Spurs have kicked on under new boss Ange Postecoglou this term.

They have scored 59 goals in the 29 games, with a record of 14 wins, six draws and nine defeats.

Scoring against Everton, Brighton and Bournemouth in their remaining fixtures of 2023 would take them alongside Albion’s 32 in the Premier League list, with the chance to chase down second-placed Liverpool and Man Utd  by February’s return fixture with the Seagulls.

After Spurs, the longest current streak belongs to Bournemouth, who had scored in eight straight games prior to Saturday’s fixture against Luton. They also found the net before that match was abandoned.

West Ham forward Jarrod Bowen is relishing their hectic schedule and urged his team-mates to make the most of Wednesday’s Carabao Cup quarter-final tie at Liverpool.

The Hammers’ made it seven wins in nine matches with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Wolves on Sunday after Bowen struck late on following a first-half brace by Mohammed Kudus.

David Moyes’ side are in the middle of a three-week period where they play seven times and next up is a midweek trip to Anfield with a semi-final berth on the line.

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“It’s an exciting time. As a player, you want to be in as many competitions as possible,” top-goalscorer Bowen said.

“We’ve got a chance now on Wednesday night to get a place in the Carabao Cup semi-final and then we play Manchester United on Saturday too.

“That will be another tasty game and there’s a lot to look forward to. We’re glad we got the win. It moves us up the table and it makes things interesting over the Christmas period.”

West Ham moved up to eighth after Sunday’s result, which was inspired by their versatile attacking trio.

Lucas Paqueta created each goal against Wolves, finding Kudus for his 25-yard opener midway through the first half before he played in the summer recruit for his second in the 32nd minute.

Bowen rounded off the scoring after he collected Paqueta’s pass and it left boss David Moyes’ purring about his Brazilian playmaker.

Moyes added: “That is what Lucas Paqueta can do for us. I’m pulling my hair out half the time and the other part of it I’m celebrating because he can make passes that other people can’t see and don’t make.

“He’s a special player. I’ve not had huge amounts of special players with that individual talent. So, there’s a little bit of leeway we have to give him.

“I’m not someone who likes giving too much leeway to any of my players. I like to treat them all fairly but as I’ve got a bit older, I’ve realised that when you have that talent, you have to let them flourish.

“But I have to say as well, his work-rate for the team over recent months has been excellent.”

Bowen concluded: “We’re just playing with freedom and we have a real understanding me, Mo (Kudus) and Lucas.

“There were times when Mo was up front and I was out on the wing. Then times I was up front and Mo on the wing.

“That is the quality the three of us have, we can play with flexibility and on the training pitch it is the same. We all love playing together.”

Wolves head coach Gary O’Neil provided a positive injury update ahead of their Christmas Eve clash with Chelsea.

He said: “The good news is Rayan (Ait-Nouri) got through 25 minutes, Pedro (Neto) is nearly back and hopefully Jose Sa’s shoulder is not too serious.

“Disappointed (with the result) but still really positive around where we can get to and hopefully the turnaround we’ll see soon with some players back.”

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk insists he was not being arrogant in dismissing Manchester United’s overly defensive display at Anfield.

The Dutchman provoked a response from former United midfielder Roy Keane when he said only one team played to win.

Keane said the comments were arrogant and disrespectful, adding: “He needs a reminder himself; he’s playing for a club that have won the title once in 30-odd years.”

Van Dijk insisted there was honesty but no arrogance in his words on a frustrating afternoon where Liverpool had 34 shots but failed to score for the first time since April.

“I like Roy Keane, if he said that then it’s fine,” he said.

“He is Man United throughout and I understand he could react like that but I felt what I said and there is absolutely no arrogance in that.

“Everyone who watched the game probably felt the same. We move on. We had the opportunity and we couldn’t score and that’s the frustrating part.”

For the first time since April Jurgen Klopp’s side failed to score, ending a club record-equalling run of 34 successive matches, and the 34 shots they attempted was their most on record (since 2003-04) without scoring.

Striker Darwin Nunez has not found the net in 10 matches, Mohamed Salah, who scored 10 in 12 league games before November’s international break, has just one in the last five, Luis Diaz has scored once in the league since mid-August while Cody Gakpo’s two league goals were both in September.

December is the worst time to lose your form with the number of fixtures during the month and Van Dijk admits the players may have been trying just too hard against their arch-rivals.

“Maybe (we were) trying to force it a little bit at times and we could have made a better decision but it was hard to break the low block down,” he added.

“You push, you push, you push and try to do everything in your power but it was one of those days we couldn’t find the right decision to score a goal.

“At times – I won’t say every time – we forced it too much to find a solution which wasn’t there but that’s football.”

There is no time to dwell on the disappointing result which cost them top spot as West Ham are the midweek visitors for the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup, a competition Liverpool won in 2022.

“We move on and have to learn from a lot of moments – and we will – and focus on Wednesday,” said Van Dijk.

“Let’s go for it. It’s the first trophy that could be in reach and it will be a very tough game as West Ham are also in a good moment with good players.”

What the papers say

Nottingham Forest’s out-of-favour centre-half Joe Worrall could be on the verge of a transfer lifeline. The Sun reports Middlesbrough manager Michael Carrick is interested in a loan deal for the 26-year-old, who is no longer in the Forest side despite signing a new deal recently. That loan move could even turn permanent if Middlesbrough win promotion.

The paper also reports Sheffield United could re-sign recent departee Iliman Ndiaye. The 23-year-old forward departed for Marseille in the summer, but has struggled for regular playing time since the move. According to The Sun United, Arsenal and Everton are all keeping tabs on Ndiaye’s situation.

The Manchester Evening News says Manchester City are set to join Real Madrid in pursuit of Girona defender Miguel Gutierrez.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Kalvin Phillips: Tuttomercatoweb reports Juventus want to sign the Man City midfielder in January.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg: Juventus are also circling a January approach for the Tottenham midfielder, according to Tuttosport.

On this day in 2014, Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli was suspended and fined after making racist and anti-Semitic comments on social media.

The then 24-year-old was was banned for one match, fined £25,000 and ordered to attend an education course following an independent regulatory commission hearing after accepting an aggravated breach of the Football Association Rule E3, relating to references of ethnic origin, colour, race, nationality or religion or belief.

Italy international Balotelli was charged after posting an image of computer game character Super Mario on Instagram which included the words “jumps like a black man and grabs coins like a Jew”.

He quickly deleted the post and the following day issued an apology via his Twitter account.

Balotelli wrote: “I apologise if I’ve offended anyone. The post was meant to be anti-racist with humour. I now understand that out of context (it) may have the opposite effect.”

Following the commission’s ruling, Balotelli offered a further apology to his team-mates and the club’s fans.

He posted on Twitter: “Following the recent events related to my ‘Super Mario’ post, the FA decision has made clear that it was wrong.

“I am sorry that my team-mates and supporters of Liverpool FC have to be penalised for something I did and now come to regret.

“It is my intention to comply with the decision of the FA and make sure it never happens again.”

Former Inter Milan, Manchester City and AC Milan frontman Balotelli, now 33 and playing his football in Turkey with Adana Demirspor, has been no stranger to controversy during his career.

Days after signing for City, he hit the headlines after crashing his Audi R8 en route to the club’s training ground and was found to be carrying £5,000 in cash, and he had another run-in with the emergency services after a firework was set off in the bathroom of his home, triggering a fire.

Real Madrid’s David Alaba is set for an extended spell on the sidelines after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament against Villarreal on Sunday.

The Austria international was forced off in the first half of his side’s 4-1 victory at the Bernabeu and tests have confirmed his and his club’s worst fears.

A statement from Madrid read: “Following tests carried out on our player David Alaba, he has been diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

“He will undergo surgery in the coming days.”

Alaba, 31, joined Madrid from Bayern Munich in 2021.

Jude Bellingham struck his 17th goal of the season as Real Madrid returned to the top of LaLiga with a thumping 4-1 win over Villarreal at the Bernabeu.

Bellingham paved the way for the hosts to leapfrog previous leaders Girona – who face Alaves on Sunday – when he struck midway through the first half before Rodrygo doubled Real’s lead.

Jose Luis Morales reduced the deficit for the visitors but Real made sure of victory with further goals from Brahim Diaz and Luka Modric.

Real Sociedad stay in sixth place, just above rivals Real Betis after the two clubs ground out a goalless draw in San Sebastian, while the match between bottom club Almeria and Mallorca also finished goalless.

Chris Ramos scored a late equaliser as Cadiz sealed their fourth consecutive LaLiga draw against Las Palmas, for whom Pejino grabbed an early opener.

Inter Milan stretched their lead at the top of Serie A to four points after a 2-0 win over Lazio in Rome.

Lautaro Martinez pounced on a calamitous back-pass by home defender Adam Marusic to put his side in front and Marcus Thuram’s second-half effort sealed the points before Lazio had Manuel Lazzari sent off late on.

City rivals AC Milan strengthened their grip on third place as they coasted to a 3-0 win over Monza at San Siro.

A third-minute strike from Tijjani Reijnders paved the way for a comfortable victory, with Jan-Carlo Simic adding a second just before half time and Noah Okafor completing the scoring in the second half.

Bologna kept in touch in fourth place with a 2-0 win over Roma courtesy of Nikola Moro and a Rasmus Kristensen own goal, while a late Lucas Beltran effort saw Fiorentina edge struggling Verona 1-0, and Udinese and Sassuolo shared the points in a 2-2 draw.

Harry Kane scored twice as Bayern Munich erased the memory of last weekend’s shocking 5-1 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt with a 3-0 win over fourth-placed Stuttgart.

Kane hit the opener after just two minutes and doubled his tally early in the second half before Kim Min-Jae completed the scoring for the revived hosts.

But Bayer Leverkusen maintained their four-point lead by succeeding where Bayern failed and thumping Frankfurt 3-0 at the BayArena, with goals from Victor Boniface, Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz.

Freiburg claimed a 2-0 win over struggling Koln who had Julian Chabot sent off for two bookable offences midway through the second half.

Paris St Germain were denied an eighth successive Ligue 1 win as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Lille at the Stade Pierre-Mouroy.

Kylian Mbappe’s 66th-minute effort looked set to send his side to another victory but Jonathan David fired home in the fourth minute of injury time to salvage a point and protect fourth place.

In-form Brest were 2-0 winners at Nantes, while Marseille laboured to a 2-1 win at home to bottom club Clermont.

Strasbourg won 2-1 at Lorient, Montpellier edged a 1-0 win at Metz, while Toulouse and Rennes battled out a stalemate.

Pep Guardiola says he is “very pleased and excited” that Manchester City are taking part in the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia over the coming days.

The treble winners go into the tournament after a slump in results, dropping points in five of their last six Premier League games to leave them fourth in the table.

Playing Club World Cup matches on Tuesday and Friday, they do not return to league action until December 27, by which time there could be a considerable gap between them and the top of the table.

Having seen his side held to a 2-2 draw at home by Crystal Palace on Saturday, Guardiola was asked if the tournament in Saudi Arabia had come at the worst possible time for City, and he said: “No – we love to go to play the (Club) World Cup.

“To go there you have to win the Champions League. I’m very pleased and excited to go there and try to win it, of course.

“The schedule is what it is, the results are what they are and you have to accept it.”

Guardiola stressed with regard to the situation in the league that City must “win games and depend on ourselves”.

Prior to Saturday’s contest, they drew 4-4 with Chelsea, 1-1 with Liverpool and 3-3 with Tottenham and lost 1-0 to Aston Villa before winning 2-1 at Luton.

The Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham and Palace matches saw City concede late equalisers – on Saturday, after City had led 2-0 and Jean-Philippe Mateta pulled a 76th-minute goal back for the visitors, Michael Olise levelled with a penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage-time.

And when asked why they were unable to close out games, Guardiola said “I would like to know,” adding: “Don’t give away that penalty, and the game will be over. The last minutes, 2-1…we have to control it better.”

City’s trip to Saudi Arabia will see them play Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds in the semis on Tuesday, with the final and third-place play-off then taking place on Friday.

Guardiola said: “The Champions League is more important, absolutely.

“But to play this tournament that we have never played before – you need to be there. And we are going to fly there and see the environment, how it is, and play against Urawa the best as possible to deserve to get to the final.

“Of course, it’s nice. Years ago we could not imagine to be there and we are there.”

Real Madrid moved to the top of La Liga with a 4-1 victory over Villareal at the Bernabeu.

Jude Bellingham’s dream debut season in Madrid continued when he opened the scoring and a strike before the break from Rodrygo helped give Los Blancos a commanding half-time lead.

Villareal fought back in the second half when Jose Luis Morales pulled a goal back but further goals from Brahim Diaz and Luka Modric ensured Madrid returned to winning ways in emphatic fashion.

Madrid forced the opening chance inside eight minutes when Bellingham headed into the grasp of goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen from inside the box.

The hosts dominated the early parts of the contest with wave after wave of attack and came within inches of the first goal when Modric’s curling effort from outside the area kissed the top of the crossbar.

Madrid inevitably took the lead a couple of minutes later when England midfielder Bellingham headed home from Modric’s cross for his 17th goal of the season.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side doubled their advantage in the 38th minute after Modric’s corner caused a scramble inside the area and the ball popped to Rodrygo who placed into the back of the net. The goal was initially ruled out but was given following a brief VAR check.

Villareal responded nine minutes after the break as Dani Parejo picked out Morales in between Nacho Fernandez and Antonio Rudiger and the forward slotted past Andriy Lunin to cut the deficit to one.

Madrid almost instantly regained their two-goal cushion after Rodrygo latched onto Lucas Vazquez’s long ball and attempted to poke it past Jorgensen, but the keeper was on hand to deny a certain goal.

Diaz scored Madrid’s third in superb style. After picking the ball up in the middle of the pitch, he made his way into the box and fired into the back of the net.

Madrid threatened to run away with the contest and added a fourth four minutes later after they capitalised on a Villarreal error in possession and Modric was on hand to blast home and make it 4-1.

Villareal keeper Jorgensen prevented Madrid bagging more goals as he stopped further efforts from Rodrygo and Diaz to keep the scoreline at 4-1.

But could not deny the home side from moving at least temporarily back above Girona, who play Alaves on Monday.

Inter Milan moved four points clear at the top of Serie A as goals from Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram sealed a 2-0 win over Lazio in Rome.

Martinez pounced on a calamitous back-pass by Lazio’s Adam Marusic five minutes before half-time to give the league leaders a slender advantage at the break.

Thuram effectively sealed victory for the visitors in the 66th minute before things got worse for Lazio, who had Manuel Lazzari sent off four minutes from time for dissent.

The result enabled Inter to capitalise on Juventus’s dropped points against Genoa on Friday night whilst disgruntled Lazio fans now find their team anchored in a lowly 11th position in the table.

Maurizio Sarri’s men more than matched their opponents for long periods of the first half after surviving an initial spell of pressure in which Nicolo Casale saved well to deny Thuram.

Daichi Kamada squeezed a shot wide and a Matteo Guendouzi effort was deflected out for a corner before Nicolo Rovella fired straight at Inter keeper Yann Sommer.

But Lazio’s good work was undone just before the break when Marusic’s desperate back-pass was intercepted by Martinez, who was pushed out wide by Ivan Provedel but managed to dribble around the keeper and steer home the opener.

Inter finished the first half strongly and could have doubled their lead five minutes later when Yann Bisseck headed just wide from the second of two consecutive corners.

Lazio started the second half on top with Rovella bringing a save out of Sommer in their best chance of the game so far, then Kamada finished off a fine move involving Immobile with a complete miskick in the box.

Thuram was left completely unmarked in the box to grab Inter’s second in the 66th minute and from that moment onwards the home challenge dramatically faded.

Henrik Mkhitaryan should have added a third six minutes later only to be denied by Provedel, then Lazzari was shown his straight red card.

Inter were not finished and Mkhitaryan once again brought a save out of Provedel as the restless home supporters greeted the final whistle with a chorus of boos.