Jude Bellingham scores on return as Real Madrid win to move top of La Liga

Jude Bellingham marked his return to the Real Madrid side with the third goal in a 3-0 win at Cadiz on Sunday evening as Carlo Ancelotti's team moved top of La Liga.

Bellingham had missed Madrid's last two league games and England's Euro qualifiers with a shoulder injury but scored his 14th goal of the season in the 74th minute to secure a comfortable win at Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla.

Yet, it was Rodrygo who was the star of the show, scoring the first two goals and setting up Bellingham for the third as the Brazilian winger pulled apart the Cadiz defence.

"Rodrygo returned and made the difference today," Madrid manager Ancelotti said.

With the win, Madrid climbed a point clear of high-flying Girona, who host Athletic Bilbao on Monday looking to reclaim top spot. They also moved four points clear of fourth-placed rivals Barcelona, following their 1-1 draw at Rayo Vallecano on Saturday, and third-placed Atletico Madrid.

Madrid were dealt several injury blows over the past fortnight with Vinicius Junior and Eduardo Camavinga suffering long-term injuries, joining Thibaut Courtois, Eder Militao and Aurelien Tchouameni on the sidelines.

Despite that, Madrid secured a straightforward victory which is not something they take for granted after the international break, and less so with an injury-ravaged squad.

"Sometimes the difficulty is just more motivation and the players understood that very well," Ancelotti said.

"All the absences that we have are important players, but we managed it well and the team was very good out there."

Madrid dominated the opening stages and took the lead after 14 minutes when Rodrygo dribbled across the penalty area and curled a sumptuous strike into the top right corner.

The Brazilian struggled for