And five! Real Madrid overthrew Real Sociedad on Sunday (2-1) at the Santiago Bernabeu to secure a fifth victory in five days in La Liga and regain the lead in the standings ahead of Barça.
Manhandled and confused, the Madrilenians were showered from the start by Barrenetxea, who had to try twice to deceive Kepa at point blank range, after a perfect cross from the Japanese Tafekusa Kubo (5th).
Passed by Real Madrid before joining the Basque team in 2022, the left-hander caused a lot of harm to the Merengue defense, bringing danger with every ball taken.
In his signature action, Kubo almost pushed his former club a little further, in the 10th minute. His powerful shot from the left landed in Kepa’s right net, but his goal was disallowed for offside at the start of the action.
This second goal woke up the Merengue, who set off again to attack the Basque goal. But they lacked realism, like Joselu, author of an incredible miss on the bar when he had the goal wide open. Carvajal (18th), then Rodrygo (28th) came up against Basque goalkeeper Remiro.
Unstoppable on his right wing, Kubo called on Kepa, his hand firm on this new curling shot from the Japanese (29th) then again on a header from Merino, which he diverted for a corner.
The Madrilenians ended up reacting after the break, equalizing thanks to a powerful strike from Valverde from 20 meters (46th), before Joselu gave Real victory with a header (61st), on a perfect cross from Fran Garcia, double decisive passer. Kepa remained vigilant until the end to maintain the Merengue advantage.
With this fifth success in five matches, Real Madrid regains its place as leader of the championship with 15 points, ahead of FC Barcelona (13 pts), who briefly took the lead after their 5-0 defeat against Betis.
On the other pitches, Sergio Ramos made a successful return to Sevilla, 18 years after his last match in the Andalusian jersey.
The Sevillians won their first victory of the season against Las Palmas (1-0) thanks to a goal from Belgian striker Lukebakio, before welcoming Lens on Wednesday in the Champions League.
Earlier in the afternoon, Norwegian recruit from Villarreal, Alexander Sorloth gave the yellow submarine three points against Almeria in the 94th minute (2-1).
English midfielder Mason Greenwood, who had been accused of attempted rape and sexual assault in Manchester before the charges were dropped, played his first minutes with Getafe, during a victory against Osasuna (3-2).
The seven Spanish teams qualified for the Champions League and the Europa League have a meeting on Tuesday with their neighbors, and the demanding pace of European competitions.