Vinicius Jr. scored a hat-trick to help the La Liga winners defeat Osasuna 4-0 on Saturday, ending a two-game losing streak across all competitions.
Real suffered two significant early setbacks against Osasuna after shocking losses to Barcelona and AC Milan, their first back-to-back home losses in more than three years.
Eder Militao and attacker Rodrygo were both sent off with injuries.
With a strong showing from Vinicius, manager Carlo Ancelotti kept his team composed by benching 21-year-old academy defender Raul Asencio and Morocco attacker Brahim Diaz.
Eight minutes later, Diaz stole the ball from a distracted defender on the edge of the box and put it on a plate for Vinicius to fire home and wrap up a comprehensive win with his second hat-trick in four games.
Vinicius is now second in LaLiga’s top-scorer race with eight goals in 12 games, six behind Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski.
Second-placed Real climbed to 27 points, six behind leaders Barcelona. Osasuna are fifth on 21 points.