Even though Jude Bellingham was benched for the first time this year, Real Madrid nevertheless defeated struggling Las Palmas 2-0.

Vinicius, who was back in shape, joined Bellingham on the bench, and the Brazilian came on for the final 30 minutes, but the task was already complete.

Brahim Diaz replaced Bellingham at the top of Carlo Ancelotti’s midfield diamond, which was defended in the lead-up to the game despite the diamond’s lack of success in the Madrid derby.

He also scored the opening goal before Joselu added a second. The large center-forward missed the Madrid derby, but on his fourth home appearance, he scored his fourth goal to seal the victory.

The talented Bellingham watched as Real Madrid struggled to gain traction right away. Despite their dominance, Joselu squandered their first opportunity after 20 minutes when Antonio Rudiger found him with a pass.

Brahim was next put through by Joselu, but his initial touch was heavy, and Alvaro Valles rushed in to make the save. This caused the forward to be caught by his follow-through and resulted in a half-hearted penalty claim.A little while later, Brahim was given another chance, but this time his effort went horribly wide and the offside flag rescued him.The goalkeeper then stopped a Joselu effort after Nacho had given Valles a test. He rescued himself from Joselu once more just before the break, this time using his feet. It seemed impossible to get past the Las Palmas keeper.After a trying first half, things took a turn for the worst when David Alaba hobbled out. Lucas Vazquez replaced him, and Nacho moved to center defense.And it was the replacement Lucas who crossed from the right, finding Brahim, who took a touch and then scored into the top of the net to give Madrid a 1-0 lead at the half.After all those missed opportunities in the first half, Joselu finally connected by heading in Rodrygo’s cross to extend Madrid’s lead on 54 minutes. At the hour mark, Vinicius entered the game and produced a few magical touches, but Madrid already had three points, which was enough to move them above Barcelona but not to the top. Starting simultaneously, Girona defeated Villarreal and is now in the losing position.