Benzema is out but Mariano stepped up. The Real Madrid striker proved his worth and opened the scoring inside two minutes against Villarreal.
Villarreal's protests for offside were fierce but dismissed by VAR.
It all began with a Toni Kroos long ball to Carvajal on the right-hand-side. The wing-back put the ball into the area, where Mariano beat Mario Gaspar to it to head home past a helpless Asenjo.