Real Madrid jumped to the top of the LaLiga table with a 4-1 thrashing of Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday night.
The host were unchanged from the side that started the 1-1 draw against Real Betis last weekend.
Madrid targeted the lead past around the 23rd minute after a curler of a shot from Luka Modric following a pass from Toni Kroos cannoned off the crossbar.
Big-name signing Jude Bellingham came to their aid two minutes later where he made a strong leap at the back-post to head in Modric's delivery.
Villarreal were forced into a change a minute from the half-hour mark after Alex Baena came off second best in a challenge with Lucas Vazquez and was replaced by Ramon Terrats.
The host weren't spared in this regard thus withdrew David Alaba, who battled with a knee-injury and was replaced by hauled Nacho Fernandez.
Rodrygo doubled the lead five minutes before halftime when a scramble in the area involving Lucas Vazquez allowed the Brazilian to side-foot home, as the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) over-ruled the on-field decision of an offside.
The Yellow Submarine regained momentum nine minutes after the break and pulled one back through a sliding finish from Jose Luis Morales.
However, the host restored the two-goal cushion ten minutes later as Brahim Diaz showed smart footwork to guide a Fran Garcia's pass into the bottom corner.
Modric added to the Yellow Submarine's woes four minutes later when Rodrygo escaped a couple of challengers to set-up the Croatian veteran to nudge home.
The host looked for more following the closing exchanges with some half-chances from particularly Rodrygo, but their ultimate quest didn't succeed.
Los Blancos still ended on the winning side after running down the final minutes and bagged the win following last weekend's draw at Real Betis.
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