Gareth Bale scored on his return to La Liga as Real Madrid thumped Rayo Vallecano 5-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu. The winger grabbed his first goal in five Madrid games on nine minutes and although Sergio Ramos doubled the lead just before the break, former Real youngster Alberto Bueno scored to ensure Rayo were just one behind at half-time.
The two-goal cushion was soon restored, though, as Toni Kroos found the net in style in the 55th minute and their fourth was not far behind.
Karim Benzema, although appearing to be offside, knocked in from close range with 31 minutes to go as Cristiano Ronaldo picked up his second assist of the day.
Ronaldo finally grabbed a goal of his own late on, with the help of some questionable goalkeeping, with victory seeing Real remain top of the Liga table with 27 points, two more than rivals Barcelona.
Ancelotti risked upsetting supporters by not including the in-form Isco in his starting line-up as Bale made his return from a gluteal injury.
But the Italian's decision was vindicated just nine minutes in, with Bale getting on the end of Kroos' teasing delivery to give Real an early lead.
The hosts struggled to build on that early goal, though, and they had Keylor Navas - in for Iker Casillas - to thank for keeping them ahead in the 21st minute as he palmed away Leo Baptistao's stinging drive.
source: goal.com
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