Jese, Karim Benzema and Luka Modric were the goalscorers as Real Madrid eased to a 3-0 win over Getafe.
Los Blancos named an unchanged attacking front-three from the one that did so well against Villarreal last weekend, handing starts to Gareth Bale, Jese and Benzema. Whilst former Santiago Bernabeu graduate Pedro Leon was in the Azulones XI, hoping to end his former employees unbeaten start to 2014.
That was made more difficult just five minutes in though, when Bale played in Jese, who opened up his body and curled in from the left-hand side of the area past Carlos Moya.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men were 1-0 up and cruising, but with the home team getting men behind the ball, chances were at a premium in the first half.
They almost paid for that relative ease in possession though on 23 minutes when Pepe’s concentration slipped, letting Adrian Colunga in on goal. Luckily for the away team however, the Portugal international got back in time to make a last-ditch tackle.
That brief distraction aside, the Merengues were in commanding form, and soon doubled their lead. From a Getafe corner, Angel Di Maria broke down the left, crossed for Benzema, and the French striker finished with ease from close-range.
The Whites were running away with the match, but they should have been celebrating a third goal towards the end of the half, only for Bale to slice his shot wide when it looked easier to score.
After the interval, the visitors grip on the game waned somewhat, with Luis Garcia’s men making it a bitty, stop-start affair. Several incidents flared up between the two teams, with the referee having to wave yellow cards around to curb the aggression.
Opportunities may have been rare, but when one came, Los Blancos made it count. Marcelo squared a ball to Modric, who shot from the edge of the area to make the result safe.
Getafe 0-3 Real Madrid
Scorers: Jese 5 (RM), Benzema 28 (RM), Modric 66 (RM)
Getafe: Moyá; Valera, Alexis, Lisandro, Vigaray; Borja (Lacen 64), Juan Rodríguez, Pedro León (Sarabia 72), Gavilán; Diego Castro, Colunga
Real Madrid: Diego Lopez, Arbeloa, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo; Di Maria (Casemiro 83), Alonso, Modric (Illarra 79); Jese, Bale, Benzema (Isco 74)
