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Real Madrid logo
La Liga
Nov 6, 2016 at 11am UK
 
Leganes logo

3-0

Bale (38', 45'), Morata (76')
FT(HT: 2-0)

Live Commentary: Real Madrid 3-0 Leganes - as it happened

Relive Sports Mole's live coverage of Real Madrid's 3-0 victory over Leganes in La Liga.
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Real Madrid have extended their unbeaten run in La Liga to 11 games with a 3-0 victory over Leganes.

After initially being frustrated by the minnows, Real netted twice before half time through two Gareth Bale efforts.

Alvaro Morata eventually added a third for the home side who strengthen their position at the top of the table.

Read below to see how the action unfolded at the Bernabeu.


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That will be all from Sports Mole for this match but please stick around - we have much more for you throughout the day. Goodbye for now.

The full-time whistle goes in Madrid and Real have completed what turned out to be a routine win over the La Liga minnows. Zidane won't be overly impressed with the performance but it was more than enough to get the job done today.

FULL TIME: Real Madrid 3-0 Leganes

There will be two minutes of added-on time.

As Ramos is carried off the pitch, Real win another free kick on the edge of the penalty area but Rodriguez is unable to find the target after taking responsibility over Ronaldo.

That's pure retaliation from Marcelo and he's managed to avoid a booking. He goes flying into a tackle with Ramos and his follow-through has left Ramos in a heap on the ground. So unnecessary and he somehow avoids a caution.

BOOKING! Leganes substitute Omar Ramos becomes the fourth player from his team to go into the book after a late challenge on Marcelo.

SUBSTITUTION! Real's final alteration of the match sees Lucas Vasquez replace Morata.

That near miss resulted in Real starting to play with more urgency and they soon find their third of the match. A fine through-ball found the run of Morata and he made no mistake as he slotted the ball inside the near post from 12 yards out.

GOAL! Real Madrid 3-0 Leganes (Morata)

CHANCE! That was the chance for Leganes. An outstanding through-ball from the back finds Szymanowski and he has the pace to beat Carvajal. However, he sent his shot too close to Navas who was able top tip the ball over the crossbar.

SUBSTITUTION! Zidane decides to make a second change with Rodriguez replacing Isco. He's another player who will be hoping to impress his manager.

Real have started to slow the pace down. Whether that's because they feel in total control or it's because they are tired from the trip to Warsaw, I don't know but they certainly aren't playing with the same intensity as 15 minutes ago.

SUBSTITUTION! It's time for Luka Modric to make an appearance. The Croatian is on for the final 29 minutes with Kovacic making way.

CHANCE! Bale really wants his hat-trick but so far, Serantes is equal to everything that is coming his way. A free kick from Kroos found the Welshman, but his flocked header lacked any power and went straight at the goalkeeper.

To their credit, Leganes haven't decided to sit back and make it all about damage limitations. They've just put together a break-away that had Real worried but the cross from the left flank was drilled when it needed to be floated.

Real are attacking at will but their best chance of the last few minutes came from a Bale free kick. His shot appeared goalbound but it took a deflection off the wall and went behind for a corner.

You can certainly tell that Real have been read the riot act by Zidane at half time. Leganes can't cope with the pace, power, trickery and flair in the final third and it's probably only a matter of time before the home side net a third.

CHANCES! Bale should really have secured his hat-trick here. The Welshman found himself behind the Leganes defence but he placed his shot too close to Serantes. Moments later, a cross came in from the left but his powerful header was kept out by the goalkeeper. Much faster start from Real in this half.

We are back underway at the Bernabeu. No changes for either side.

With the final touch of the first half, Real double their lead and it's probably game over. A free kick was sent into the box and although Ronald and Varane failed to take advantage, the ball fell to Bale who was able to poke home from six yards out. It's a long way back for Leganes from here.

HALF TIME: Real Madrid 2-0 Leganes

GOAL! Real Madrid 2-0 Leganes (Bale)

CHANCE! Szymanowski sees a shot deflected over the crossbar by Varane but Real are incensed that the ball wasn't put out because of an injury to Bale. Again, more complaining without justification. Bale hadn't suffered a head injury and only a few seconds had passed before the shot.

Since the goal, we have seen bookings for both Kroos and Insua. Kroos's was harsh - it was simply a late challenge without any venom in it. Insua's wasn't - he pulled the shirt of a Real player for a few seconds before the referee finally blew up.

Real break the deadlock at the Bernabeu. A fine ball from Isco on the left flank finds the advancing Bale and after taking the ball around the goalkeeper, he was able to slot home into an empty net. Will that open the floodgates?

GOAL! Real Madrid 1-0 Leganes (Bale)

SHOT! Isco lays the ball off to Ronaldo who is 30 yards out and he only has one thing on his mind. However, he can only drag his shot wide of the target.

That's shocking from Gabriel. He's flung himself to the floor under no contact, feigned injury and waited until the ball was out before getting up. He certainly knew what he was doing.

Morata has probably done more complaining than Ronaldo, which is some achievement. The longer this game remains goalless, you get the feeling that tensions are going to boil over. Leganes look extremely well-drilled.

Real win their first corner of the match but it fails to beat the first man. More frustration for Ronald and co. The ball eventually fell to Isco but despite weaving his way towards the box, his shot was blocked.

Leganes are throwing themselves into tackles and on most occasions, winning the ball. You can see the frustration bubbling in both Morata and Ronaldo, though. Ronaldo especially is making an effort to stop himself complaining to the referee.

CHANCE! Leganes enjoy their best moment of the match but they cannot make the most of it. A free kick finds Gabriel and a clever hooked pass deceives the defenders and goes towards Szymanowski and Insua at the back post. Unfortunately for the visitors, neither player can get on the end of it.

CHANCE! Two in a minute now. A long ball from Varane finds Ronaldo in an offside position but the assistant keeps his flag down. The Portuguese attacker proceeded to move closer to goal but he somehow blazed his shot high into the stands. That definitely should have been 1-0.

SHOT! Finally! A searching ball from Bale finds Morata at the back post but the Spaniard's header back across goal lands on the roof of the net. Difficult chance but one he probably feels he should be scoring from.

Still no shots on goal. It's been 20 minutes. This surely cannot go on for much longer...

BOOKING! Ah, there he is! However, it's not the contribution he wanted to make. Ronaldo receives a booking for dissent after complaining about a strong challenge on him. The frustration is already building...

I should probably point out that Ronaldo is actually playing in this match. It's just that he has barely touched the ball. Leganes have just made an ambitious appeal for a penalty but the referee soon turned his back to the incident.

We have had 11 minutes and we are yet to see a shot from Real Madrid. It must have been a while since they started this slowly? It's not as if Leganes are sitting back either. They are giving as good as they get in the middle of the park and showing enough ambition to worry the Real backline.

BOOKING! Machis is the first man into the book for a cynical tug back on Marcelo who was attempting to surge down the left flank. He made a meal of the foul but the Leganes player deserved the yellow card.

It would be wrong to say that Real have taken a relaxed approach to the start of this game but they are certainly not firing on all cylinders. It's only encouraging Leganes who are making the odd flurry forward. They are yet to get a significant shot on goal but they are growing into this one.

It's been a quiet start from both sides. Leganes are chasing the ball in all areas of the pitch but they haven't really got hold of the ball. Real are spraying it about - as you would expect - but aside from a long ball to Bale, all their work has been done in non-threatening areas.

Leganes get this game underway and they have already lost the ball. It could be a long 90 minutes.

Here comes the two sides to an expectant crowd at the Bernabeu. We will be underway very shortly.

Before the two teams make their way out, let me give you the rundown of what we have on offer for you this afternoon. We'll soon have the North London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur before our attentions turn to Liverpool's clash with Watford and Manchester United's trip to Swansea City. If that's not enough for you, we also have Barcelona's trip to Sevilla later this evening. What more could you want on a Sunday?!

PREDICTION! We won't hold back here - we expect Real to react to drawing against Legia Warsaw with a five-star performance today. In theory, the likes of Ronaldo, Bale and Morata should run riot and we think they will make it a reality over the next couple of hours. Real to win by a 5-1 margin. Sorry Leganes fans!

Talking of Atletico, it's their defeat to Real Sociedad which has resulted in Real remaining three points clear of their city rivals while still having a game in hand. Diego Simeone's team made a major blip yesterday and even at this stage, you have to wonder whether they would be capable of overturning a six-point deficit if Real emerge victorious at the Bernabeu.

While it's obviously a tough ask for Leganes to gain anything from today's game, they will take heart from the fact that two of their wins in La Liga this season have come on the road. They've registered 1-0 victories away at both Celta Vigo and Granada and while those clubs do not match up with Real, it gives some indication that there's a resoluteness about Asier Garitano's squad. They've also picked up a goalless draw with Atletico Madrid so we perhaps shouldn't write them off just yet...

Leganes head into this game having suffered three successive defeats in La Liga and much of their hopes today could depend on how Alexander Szymanowski performs on the flank. He netted in three games in a row earlier this season and with Leaganes failing to score in their previous two outings against Malaga and Real Sociedad, they will be relying on the 28-year-old causing some problems for the Real backline.

Zidane has opted to make just the two alterations to the team which started the Champions League fixture in Warsaw. Fabio Coentrao and Karim Benzema both drop out of the team with Marcelo and Isco being given an opportunity from the start. For Isco especially, he will be keen to impress after being limited to just nine games in all competitions this season.

LEGANES SUBSTITUTES: Brignoli, Guerrero, Diaz, Luciano, Sastre, Omar, Timor

LEGANES: Serantes, Bustinza, Mantovani, Martin, Machis, Gabriel, Szymanowski, Rico, Insua, Lopez, Perez

REAL MADRID SUBSTITUTES: Casilla, Coentrao, Danilo, Modric, Rodriguez, Asensio, Lucas Vasquez

REAL MADRID XI: Navas, Carvajal, Varane, Nacho, Marcelo, Kroos, Kovacic, Isco, Bale, Morata, Ronaldo

Anyway, enough of me praising one of the greatest players of all time, let me bring you some team news instead.

If we are to give Real Madrid even more praise early on a Sunday morning, we may as well go the whole hog and tell you that it has been 22 games since they last lost in La Liga. You wouldn't get that in the Premier League, would you? It's difficult to put down their run to their quality under Zidane or the current state of Spain's top flight but either way, you have to commend what the Frenchman has achieved with Madrid since he took charge of the team. He's still only lost twice in 43 matches.

It's an action-packed day with Sports Mole today and what better way to start than a match involving the champions of Europe? They didn't quite perform like the current holders of the Champions League in Warsaw in midweek but it's been a different story in La Liga with Zinedine Zidane's side still unbeaten after 10 matches.

Hello, and welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage of the match in La Liga between Real Madrid and Leganes.

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Zinedine Zidane appears prior to the game between Real Madrid and Deportivo La Coruna on January 9, 2016
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Barcelona13110240122833
2Real Madrid1283125111427
3Atletico MadridAtletico137511971226
4Villarreal127322319424
5Osasuna136341720-321
6Athletic Bilbao135531913620
7Real BetisBetis135531412220
8Real Sociedad135351110118
9Mallorca135351010018
10GironaGirona135351617-118
11Celta Vigo135262022-217
12Rayo Vallecano124441313016
13Sevilla134361218-615
14Leganes133551316-314
15AlavesAlaves134181422-813
16Las PalmasLas Palmas133371622-612
17Getafe13175811-310
18Espanyol123181122-1110
19Real ValladolidValladolid132381025-159
20Valencia11146817-97


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