Vinícius nets hat trick in win as three Real Madrid players go down injured; Militão tears ACL

Vinícius Júnior scored a hat trick as Real Madrid achieved a much-needed 4-0 win over Osasuna in La Liga on Saturday that was marred by teammate Éder Militão tearing an ACL.

Madrid heard jeers in its previous two home games — a 4-0 loss to fierce rival Barcelona and 3-1 loss to AC Milan — but this easy victory came at a high price.

Militão crumbled to the turf while screaming and clutching the back of his right knee shortly before halftime. The central defender was taken off on a stretcher. Rodrygo and Lucas Vázquez also were unable to continue after apparently sustaining muscle injuries in the first half.

“We played a good game and I am happy for the goals, but sad for the injuries to Mili, Rodry and Lucas,” Vinícius said. “I am sad that Mili has to go through this again.”

Vinícius, who apparently felt overlooked when the Ballon d’Or went to Spain’s Rodri last week, got his second hat trick of the season and took his overall tally to 12 goals. Jude Bellingham’s goal made it 2-0.

“Vinícius makes the difference,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “Not winning the Ballon d’Or is a detail that did not affect him as we can see today.”

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Madrid is in second place, six points behind leader Barcelona.

Rodrygo was injured early. The forward, who missed the clasico due to another injury, wept as he walked gingerly to the bench, where a team medic put ice on his left leg.

Worse was to come when Militão went down. He pulled his jersey over his face as he was carried off on the half-hour mark. The club said he ruptured his ACL and would need surgery.

Militão tore an ACL in his other leg, his left, in the opener of last season and was out until March before coming back to help Madrid win the Champions League and La Liga.

“Three injuries in the first half is pretty rare,” Ancelotti said. “The demands of the schedule sometimes does not allow players to get the rest they need, and that increases the risk of injuries. It is a problem for everyone, not just us.”

This is the second ACL injury to Madrid’s squad in this campaign after Spain right back Dani Carvajal ripped up his right leg last month. Goalkeeper Courtois Thibaut, David Alaba and Aurélien Tchouaméni were also unavailable with their own injuries.

A numbed Santiago Bernabeu Stadium was brought alive by Vinícius when he cut back and curled in the opener in the 34th.

Ancelotti replaced Militão with youth team debutant Raúl Asencio, who delivered a long lobbed pass that Bellingham used, one touch, to chip over goalkeeper Sergio Herrera to double the lead in the 42nd.

Vinícius ran onto another long pass, this time by ‘keeper Andriy Lunin, before rounding Herrera to make it 3-0 in the 61st. His third came after substitute Brahim Díaz stole the ball from defender Flavien-Enzo Boyomo and laid off for his scoring partner in the 69th.

While Vinícius soared, strike partner Kylian Mbappé remained in the doldrums after France didn’t want him for a second straight international period. The former Paris Saint-Germain star hasn’t scored in his last four games for his new club.

“Mbappé tried to score and I believe he combined well with his teammates,” Ancelotti said. “He hasn’t scored recently, but he has always been a scorer and he will get back to scoring without a doubt.”

Osasuna, the only team to beat Barcelona in the league, failed to get a shot on goal.

Before kickoff, Madrid unfurled a huge banner in the stands representing the flag for the Valencia region during a moment of silence for the more than 200 people who died in last week’s catastrophic floods in eastern Spain.

Another bad injury

A tearful Ilias Akhomach also had to be taken off on a stretcher after he hurt his right leg following his opening goal in Villarreal’s 3-0 win over Alaves.

Villarreal, which is in the northern part of the Valencia region, honored the flood victims by having players from both teams wear T-shirts saying “Stay Strong Valencia” before kickoff.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer