Real Madrid player ratings vs Villarreal: Luka Modric is ageless, and ...

Luka Modric turned in a vintage performance, and Jude Bellingham served as an ideal sidekick as Real Madrid comfortably handled a struggling Villarreal side. The two grabbed a goal apiece, while Rodrygo and Brahim Diaz also found the net to round off a complete attacking showing and 4-1 win.

The first Madrid goal was a blend of youth and experience. 38-year-old Modric set up 20-year-old La Liga top scorer Bellingham with a wonderful cross, who put a header back across the goalkeeper for a 1-0 lead.

Los Blancos added a second shortly before half time, when Rodrygo turned home from short range after a goalmouth scramble. Villarreal grabbed a goal of their own early in the second half, with Jose Morales darting behind the defence and finishing past a scrambling Andriy Lunin.

But this was otherwise a comfortable night for Madrid. Diaz scored the third after a winding run, before Modric got his deserved goal — a composed finish into the bottom corner to turn a victory into a rout.

They won't all be this easy, but Los Blancos got the job done, and are top of the table on Sunday night.

GOAL rates Real Madrid's players from the Santiago Bernabeu...