BARCELONA — Real Madrid's second straight five-goal performance under new coach Zinedine Zidane to dispatch Sporting Gijon 5-1 in the Spanish league Sunday came at the high price of losing both Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema to injury.
Bale and Benzema both scored to help build a 5-0 lead before picking up right-leg injuries.
The injuries put a damper on another dominant showing by Zidane's team, which followed its 5-0 win against Deportivo La Coruna in his debut with a first-half explosion that starkly contrasted with Madrid's 0-0 draw at Sporting under predecessor Rafa Benitez to start the season.
Bale opened the floodgates in the seventh minute. Cristiano Ronaldo and Benzema then netted their 15th and 16th goals this season to rise past Barcelona pair Neymar and Luis Suarez as the competition's top scorers.
Health concerns aside, Madrid's star-studded squad made a strong statement that the club may not skip a beat when FIFA's one-year transfer ban for breaching rules regarding youth players takes effect after the close of the winter market.
Madrid momentarily moved into second place, one point behind provisional leader Atletico Madrid before it visits Las Palmas later. Barcelona is one point behind Madrid with two games to play: at Athletic Bilbao later Sunday and a postponed match against Sporting.
Bale picked up from his three-goal outing in Zidane's first match in charge with another strong showing, as he helped earn a corner kick that he then headed home from Toni Kroos' service.
Benzema set up Ronaldo to double the lead, and Bale crossed for Benzema to use an acrobatic kick to take Madrid's third.
With Sporting reeling, Ronaldo tapped in Dani Carvajal's cross to make it 4-0 by the 18th minute. Benzema got his brace from Francisco "Isco" Alarcon's pass in the 41st.
Madrid lost Bale a minute before halftime with a right-calf injury, and Benzema went down early in the second half, shortly after Sporting's Isma Lopez scored, when teammate James Rodriguez kicked his right leg.
Earlier, Valencia coach Gary Neville remained winless in the league after his team fought back to salvage a 2-2 draw with relegation-threatened Rayo Vallecano.
Both teams remained without a victory in nine consecutive rounds, with Neville in charge of Valencia for the last six.
"We have to correct this immediately," Neville said. "It was a very disappointing performance. In football, you have to win and enjoy yourself, and we didn't show any of that."
Espanyol also plays at Getafe later.
