Real Madrid's Karim Benzema, third left, celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against Sporting Gijon during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Sporting Gijon at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016. (AP)
Real Madrid's second straight five-goal performance under new coach Zinedine Zidane to dispatch Sporting Gijon 5-1 on 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 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.
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