Barcelona: Karim Benzema helped Real Madrid move one step closer to dethroning Lionel Messi’s Barcelona.
Benzema scored one goal and set up another to lead Madrid to beating Alavés 2-0 on Friday and restoring a four-point lead over Barcelona in the Spanish league with only three rounds left.
Benzema scored a penalty kick in the 11th minute and assisted Marco Asensio in the 50th to ensure an eighth straight victory since La Liga resumed play after stopping for three months due to the pandemic. Benzema has four goals during the winning streak and provided a superb assist for Casemiro to score in a 1-0 win at Espanyol three rounds ago.
Madrid will finish the season with matches against Granada, Villarreal, and Leganés. Barcelona has games against Valladolid, Osasuna, and Alavés before the competition concludes on July 19.
Madrid holds the tiebreaker on head-to-head goals if they finish level on points.
Still, Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane refused to say the league was Madrid’s to lose.
“Anything can happen until this is over,” Zidane said. “It is a good result and how we have three to go.”
Zidane had to experiment in defense with Sergio Ramos and Dani Carvajal serving suspensions and Marcelo and Nacho Fernández injured. While the left side was held down by the experienced Raphael Varane and sometimes starter Ferland Mendy, the right side went to Éder Militão in just his ninth league start of the campaign and Lucas Vázquez, a forward. (AP)
