Vinícius Júnior scored a hat-trick as Real Madrid secured a much-needed 4-0 victory over Osasuna in La Liga, a result overshadowed by teammate Éder Militão suffering an ACL tear.

Madrid had endured jeers in their previous two home matches — a 4-0 defeat to fierce rivals Barcelona and a 3-1 loss to AC Milan — but this comfortable win came at a heavy cost.

Militão collapsed to the turf, screaming and clutching the back of his right knee shortly before halftime. The central defender was carried off on a stretcher. Rodrygo and Lucas Vázquez also appeared to sustain muscle injuries in the first half and were unable to continue.

“We played a good game, and I am happy for the goals, but sad for the injuries to Mili, Rodry and Lucas,” Vinícius said. “I am sad that Mili has to go through this again.”

Vinícius, who seemed overlooked when Spain’s Rodri won the Ballon d’Or last week, scored his second hat-trick of the season, bringing his total to 12 goals. Jude Bellingham’s goal had given Madrid a 2-0 lead.

“Vinícius makes the difference,” Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said. “Not winning the Ballon d’Or is a detail that did not affect him, as we can see today.”

Madrid are in second place, six points behind leaders Barcelona.

Rodrygo was injured early on. The forward, who missed the Clasico due to a previous injury, was in tears as he walked gingerly to the bench, where a team medic applied ice to his left leg.

Things took a turn for the worse when Militão went down. He pulled his jersey over his face as he was stretchered off just before the half-hour mark. The club confirmed he ruptured his ACL and would require surgery.

Militão had torn the ACL in his left leg during the opening match of last season and was out until March before returning to help Madrid win both the Champions League and La Liga.

“Three injuries in the first half is pretty rare,” Ancelotti said. “The demands of the schedule sometimes do not allow players to get the rest they need, and that increases the risk of injuries. It is a problem for everyone, not just us.”

This is the second ACL injury in Madrid’s squad this season, after Spanish right-back Dani Carvajal tore his ACL in his right leg last month. Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, David Alaba, and Aurélien Tchouaméni were also unavailable due to their respective injuries.

The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, quieted by the injuries, was lifted by Vinícius when he cut back and curled in the opener in the 34th minute.

Ancelotti replaced Militão with youth team debutant Raúl Asencio, who delivered a long lobbed pass that Bellingham chipped over goalkeeper Sergio Herrera to double the lead in the 42nd minute.

Vinícius ran onto another long pass, this time from goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, before rounding Herrera to make it 3-0 in the 61st minute. His third came after substitute Brahim Díaz stole the ball from defender Flavien-Enzo Boyomo and laid it off for his strike partner in the 69th minute.

While Vinícius soared, his strike partner Kylian Mbappé remained in the doldrums after being overlooked for a second consecutive international break by France. The former Paris Saint-Germain star has not scored in his last four games for his new club.

“Mbappé tried to score, and I believe he combined well with his teammates,” Ancelotti said. “He hasn’t scored recently, but he has always been a scorer, and he will get back to scoring without a doubt.”

Osasuna, the only team to defeat Barcelona in the league, failed to get a shot on goal.

Before the match, Madrid unfurled a huge banner in the stands representing the flag of the Valencia region during a moment of silence for the more than 200 people who died in last week's devastating floods in eastern Spain.

Another Bad Injury

A tearful Ilias Akhomach also had to be taken off on a stretcher after injuring his right leg following his opening goal in Villarreal’s 3-0 victory over Alavés.

Villarreal, located in the northern part of the Valencia region, honoured the flood victims by having players from both teams wear T-shirts that read “Stay Strong Valencia” before kick-off.