MADRID —
Karim Benzema passed 300 goals for
Real Madrid and Vinicius Junior produced another moment of
magic as La Liga's run-away leaders sailed past Valencia 4-1 on Saturday.
اضافة اعلان
Benzema and Vinicius both scored twice at
the Santiago Bernabeu to send Madrid eight points clear of second-placed
Sevilla, who have two games in hand, the first coming against Getafe on Sunday.
Benzema's 300th goal arrived from the
penalty spot before Vinicius bamboozled five Valencia defenders, via a one-two
with his French teammate, to add a brilliant second early in the second half.
Vinicius then headed in a third and Benzema
added a late fourth, either side of
Goncalo Guedes converting a penalty for the
hosts.
Benzema now has 17 goals this season and
Vinicius 12, their combined 29 more than the entirety of 13 teams in the
division, including fourth-placed Real Sociedad.
"I feel very good with Vinicius,"
Benzema said. "I'm always here to help him, I know his potential, I think
he can reach an even higher level. He is a fantastic player for us."
Benzema's triple century came after 584
appearances for Real Madrid. He is the fourth player in the club's history to
reach the milestone, joining the esteemed trio of
Cristiano Ronaldo, Raul and
Alfredo di Stefano.
Barcelona and Real Madrid will face off in
the semi-finals of the Spanish Super Cup on Wednesday but the Catalans must
look on with envy now at the class Madrid possess in attack.
A lack of punch had earlier cost Barca dear
in a 1-1 draw with Granada that saw them miss the chance to move into La Liga's
top four.
Instead they stay sixth, level on points
with Atletico Madrid, who are still to face Villarreal on Sunday. Real Sociedad
sit fourth after they had earlier won 1-0 at home to Celta Vigo.
Luuk de Jong headed
Xavi Hernandez's side
into the lead at Los Carmenes, only for Granada’s Antonio Puertas to equalize
in the 89th minute, 10 minutes after Barcelona’s 17-year-old Gavi had been sent
off.
De Jong nodded in a cross from Dani Alves,
the 38-year-old who was making his first La Liga appearance since May 2016.
"We needed to have patience, to keep
the ball and play in the opposition's half, but we lost silly balls, it was our
mistakes," said Xavi Hernandez.
Gavi's mistake gave Granada impetus at a
crucial moment but Barcelona's lack of goals means they are constantly
vulnerable to the slightest error. They have won only one game by more than a
single goal since October.
"Before the sending off we had to kill
the game. It should have been 2-0. We have to be self-critical and grow,"
Xavi said.
Madrid were more clinical. Luka Modric had
already hit the crossbar when Casemiro was brought down in the area by Omar
Alderete and Benzema curled in the penalty.
Vinicius scored a superb second in the 52nd
minute, driving into the area with a cluster of Valencia defenders ahead of
him.
After a one-two with Benzema, the Brazilian
appeared to have been stopped by
Mouctar Diakhaby but he kept going and the
ball squirmed loose, allowing him to side foot into the corner.
Vinicius nodded in a third on the line and
Valencia's Guedes pulled one back from the penalty spot before Benzema's smart
finish on the turn gave him his second of the game, 301st overall, and Madrid's
fourth.
Read more Sports
.jpg)
.jpg)
