Bale double helps La Liga leaders Real see off Leganes

BARCELONA: A first-half double from Gareth Bale helped Real Madrid cement their position at the top of La Liga with a 3-0 win at home to Leganes on Sunday.

Reeling from a chaotic midweek 3-3 draw at Legia Warsaw in the Champions League, Real got off to a slow start against neighbours Leganes, but Bale put them in charge in the 37th minute.

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The Wales international, who netted a sensational half volley against Legia, raced onto a through ball from Isco that split the visiting defence and rounded goalkeeper Jon Serantes to tuck the ball inside the near post from a tight angle.

Bale then cashed in on poor defending from a free kick to hit the second on the stroke of halftime, just beating Serantes to the loose ball from close range.

Real remain unbeaten in all competitions and also kept a first clean sheet in 11 games.

"We keep picking up points and today we did it while playing well, even if at the start we gave the ball away a lot. When we found the first goal the game changed," said Zidane.

"We bossed the second half and I'm happy with our performance and to have kept a clean sheet. We're not going to win the title with 100 points, because it's becoming much harder to win games in this league."

Real top the standings on 27 points, five clear of champions Barcelona, who visit fourth-placed Sevilla later on Sunday.

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