BIG BEN RINGS IN Madrid fire up La Liga battle
RAPHAEL VARANE and Karim Benzema kept in-form Real Madrid in the battle for the La Liga title.
The Real pair scored in each half to earn a comfortable win over Espanyol yesterday.
Varane (right) broke the deadlock before Benzema grabbed the decisive second goal in the 79th minute.
Despite Madrid defender Ferland Mendy’s late dismissal for a second yellow card, the hosts cruised home despite not being at their best.
“It was a very demanding game on a physical level, they pressed us high up and we had to be patient in front of goal,” said France defender Varane. “We tried to play our game but we lacked the final ball to hurt the opponent. We played well and they did too.
“We have a run of complicated games coming, we’re prepared, confident and will give our best to take on this run.”
Real coach
Zinedine Zidane started Brazilian duo Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo
Goes either side of Benzema, with Eden Hazard and Gareth Bale out injured.
The breakthrough came when Benzema set up Varane
Real Madrid 2 Espanyol 0
to neatly slot the ball home in the 37th minute.
Benzema should have doubled Real’s lead early in the second half but Espanyol goalkeeper Diego Lopez denied the Frenchman. The forward also fired narrowly wide after being set up by Vinicius.
But he eventually bagged his 11th league goal of the season as Real – playing in a green kit for the first time at the Bernabeu to show support for the COP25 climate summit in the Spanish capital – wrapped up the win.