Vinícius Júnior's hat-trick propelled Real Madrid to a commanding 4-0 victory over Osasuna at the Bernabéu, snapping a two-game winless streak in all competitions. Following shock defeats by Barcelona and Milan, which marked their first back-to-back home losses in over three years, Real Madrid faced early setbacks as Rodrygo and Éder Militão were forced off injured. Militão sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury and will undergo surgery, sidelining him for several months. Despite these challenges, Carlo Ancelotti introduced Brahim Diaz and academy defender Raúl Asencio from the bench, and the team remained composed, led by Vinícius' stellar performance. The Brazilian forward opened the scoring in the 34th minute, capitalizing on a Jude Bellingham pass to beat the offside trap and deliver a powerful strike past Sergio Herrera. Bellingham regained his scoring touch with a brilliant lob eight minutes later. Real's Lucas Vázquez was also forced off, but Vinícius extended the lead in the 61st minute, receiving a long pass from Andriy Lunin, rounding Herrera, and tapping into the empty net. Diaz then set up Vinícius for his third goal in the 69th minute, securing a comprehensive win and his second hat-trick in four games.

Second-placed Real Madrid now has 27 points, six behind leaders Barcelona, who have played the same number of games and visit Real Sociedad on Sunday. Meanwhile, Bayern Munich secured a tense 1-0 victory at St Pauli, thanks to a sensational 30-yard drive from Jamal Musiala, maintaining their unbeaten record at the top of the Bundesliga. Despite St Pauli's aggressive play, Bayern struck in the 23rd minute when Musiala unleashed a ferocious shot that hit the crossbar and went in. St Pauli proved resilient, but Bayern's 70% possession kept them at bay. Late chances for Bayern saw Musiala firing over the bar and Harry Kane failing to beat the Bochum keeper. Bayern leads with 26 points, six ahead of second-placed RB Leipzig, who hosted Borussia Mönchengladbach later on Saturday. Eintracht Frankfurt, visiting Stuttgart on Sunday, is third with 17 points.

In another match, Koji Miyoshi's 89th-minute goal earned Bochum a 1-1 draw against champions Bayer Leverkusen. Leverkusen had looked set for a 1-0 win until Miyoshi leveled from close range. Patrik Schick had earlier given Leverkusen the lead with a superb finish in the 18th minute. Leverkusen now trails Bayern by nine points. Borussia Dortmund suffered a 3-1 loss at Mainz, their fourth consecutive away defeat in the Bundesliga, increasing pressure on coach Nuri Sahin. Dortmund played with 10 men from the 27th minute after Emre Can's red card. Mainz took the lead through Lee Jae-sung, and despite Serhou Guirassy's penalty equalizer, Jonathan Burkardt and Paul Nebel secured the win. In Italy, the Turin derby headlines the weekend as Juventus host Torino, following Milan's visit to Cagliari.

Source link:   https://www.theguardian.com