Soccer

Jude Bellingham scores on his return as Real Madrid move back to LaLiga summit

Jude Bellingham (left) was back among the goals for Real Madrid after returning from a shoulder problem (Jose Breton/AP)
Jude Bellingham (left) was back among the goals for Real Madrid after returning from a shoulder problem (Jose Breton/AP)
By Jim van Wijk, PA

England midfielder Jude Bellingham returned from injury to help Real Madrid move back to the top of LaLiga with a 3-0 win at Cadiz.

A shoulder problem saw Bellingham sidelined ahead of the international break, missing England’s final Euro 2024 qualifiers.

Bellingham, though, showed little signs of any lingering problems as he scored his 11th league goal after a double from Rodrygo had set Los Blancos on their way to a comfortable win.

Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham celebrates scoring
Jude Bellingham continued his fine goalscoring form on returning from injury (Jose Breton/AP)

Real Madrid move a point ahead of Girona, who host Athletic Bilbao on Monday night.

Sevilla had two players sent off late on as they lost 2-1 at Real Sociedad, who kept up their top-six challenge.

An early own goal from Marko Dmitrovic and Sadiq Umar’s strike had the home side ahead at half-time.

Youssef En-Nesyri pulled a goal back on the hour, but the visitors finished with nine men following late red cards for defenders Jesus Navas and Sergio Ramos.

A first LaLiga hat-trick from Jose Luis Morales saw Villarreal beat Osasuna 3-1 to give new manager Marcelino a winning start to his second spell in charge.

In Sunday’s late kick-off, an early goal from Willian Jose was enough for Real Betis to beat Las Palmas 1-0.

Real Betis held out to extend their unbeaten LaLiga run to nine matches, which keeps them in touch with the top six.

Inter Milan remain two points clear at the top of Serie A after coming from behind to draw 1-1 at nearest rivals Juventus.

Dusan Vlahovic gave the home side the lead after starting and finishing a well-worked move in the 27th minute.

Lautaro Martinez equalised just five minutes later with a first-time finish to cap a stunning team goal.

Paulo Dybala struck in each half as Roma beat Udinese 3-1 at the Stadio Olimpico to sit fifth in the table.

Relegation-battlers Empoli slipped to an agonising 4-3 home defeat against Sassuolo after Domenico Berardi’s deflected effort in stoppage time, while Cagliari moved out of the drop zone after a 1-1 draw against Monza.

Frosinone made it two wins out of three league games as they beat Genoa 2-1 through Ilario Monterisi’s strike deep into added time at the Stadio Benito Stirpe.

Nice kept up the pressure at the top of Ligue 1 with a 1-0 win over Toulouse.

Terem Moffi’s goal early in the second half proved enough for Les Aiglons’ fifth win in the last six games of a 16-match unbeaten league run to close within a point of PSG.

First-half goals from Jonathan David and Tiago Santos saw Lille to a comfortable 2-0 win at bottom club Lyon to close up on third-placed Monaco.

Brest ended their three-match losing run with a 3-1 victory at Montpellier, while a late penalty from Ablie Jallow saw Metz win 3-2 at Lorient.

Rennes saw off Reims 3-1 at Roazhon Park and it finished goalless between Nantes and Le Havre, who saw Andre Ayew sent off late on after making his debut from the bench.

In the Bundesliga, Hoffenheim were held to a 1-1 draw at home by relegation-battlers Mainz and it finished goalless between Heidenheim and Bochum.