Trent Alexander-Arnold was back in the Madrid starting line-up for the first time since December, and he wasted no time in making an impact, as his curling cross in the fifth minute was poked into the back of the net by Gonzalo Garcia.
The match would have begun very differently had Mikel Oyarzabal’s long-range strike a minute earlier not sailed a whisker wide, but the striker needed only to wait until midway through the half to have his say, after a clumsy Dean Huijsen challenge on Yangel Herrera saw the visitors awarded a penalty, which Oyarzabal blasted down the middle for an equaliser.
However, parity lasted all of four minutes, as a clip by Jon Aramburu sent Vinícius Junior to the floor inside the area, and Los Blancos duly had a spot-kick of their own.
In Kylian Mbappe’s absence, Vinicius took the responsibility himself and sent Alex Remiro the wrong way.
The home side then put real daylight between themselves and their Basque visitors just beyond the half-hour mark, when Alvaro Carreras slid the ball through to Federico Valverde, whose turn and hit from the edge of the area had just too much on it for Remiro.
And it should have been four for the hosts on the stroke of half-time, when Valverde put the ball on a plate for García, but somehow he squandered the chance from six yards.
If there was any doubt whether Aramburu’s challenge on Vini Jr in the first half warranted a penalty, there was no such debate in the first minute of the second half, when he brought down the Brazilian inside the box once again.
Remiro went the right way this time, but Vinicius scored from 12 yards once more to take his league tally to eight.
Even with the game surely now won and lost, Jon Martín attempted to mount a Txuri-Urdin comeback after an hour, but his firm header from a corner was well saved by Thibaut Courtois.
Álvaro Arbeloa’s side were toying with their opponents as the half wore on, and only a vital clearance by the backtracking Martín prevented Arda Guler from adding a fifth.
The offside flag denied Orri Oskarsson a late consolation and Vini Jr a hat-trick goal, as Pellegrino Matarazzo’s side missed the chance to go on an eight-game unbeaten run in LaLiga for the first time since November 2021. As for Real Madrid, it’s now 18 wins from 18 when scoring first this season.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Federico Valverde (Real Madrid)