Bale at the double as Real Madrid beat Leganes

Real Madrid enjoyed a comfortable win at home to Leganes to ensure they go into the international break as leaders of the Spanish Liga Santander.

Gareth Bale set the ball rolling with two goals late in the first half and Alvaro Morata scored with 15 minutes remaining in what was generally a flat performance against a rival which never looked like causing Zinedine Zidane's side any major problems.

Real Madrid were without the injured Sergio Ramos, Casemiro, Pepe and Karim Benzema, but with Luka Modric back on the bench after over a month out with a knee injury for their first league meeting against Leganes.

The first 25 minutes were surprisingly flat with only an Alvaro Morata header over the bar in the home side's account, while Ronaldo had his blushes spared by the offside flag after blazing over when through on goal.

Madrid's first shot on goal ended in the back of the net when Gareth Bale put them ahead in the 38th minute. The Welshman latched onto Isco's through ball and although visiting keeper JonAnder Serantes got a hand on the ball, it rebounded kindly for him to slide the ball home from a narrow angle.

Bale scored his second of the game on the stroke of halftime as he reacted fast from a corner to score from close range.

He had his side's first chances at the start of the second half, but saw how Serantes did well to save a low shot, before making a straightforward stop following a header from a Ronaldo cross.

There was good news for Madrid with 30 minutes remaining when Modric replaced Mateo Kovacic for his first appearance after seven weeks out, but the game was in danger of dying on its feet before Morata made it 3-0 in the 76th minute with a smart finish for his fourth goal of the campaign. Endtem