Too far from Barça to hope for a title, too far from the lower places to fear anything, Real Madrid did not have much to play for on Saturday against Almeria. The people of Madrid put on a show in attack, but proved too easy, conceding two largely avoidable goals (4-2).
The game: 4-2
In the fight to maintain, Rubi, Spanish coach of Almeria, seemed to have overlooked the match. After the victory of the Andalusian club last week in Getafe, 8 of the 11 holders were not renewed. The confrontation was quickly unbalanced. Vinicius, then Rodrygo in turn make huge differences on their side, each time finding Karim Benzema in the center, who concludes (5th and 17th). The French striker offers himself a hat-trick on penalty in the 42nd. Before the break, Lazaro Marques took advantage of the complete immobility of the Merengue to reduce the mark (45th + 1).
In the second period, Rodrygo, decidedly very strong, finds the skylight with a powerful strike outside the area. Los Blancos alternated between brilliant in attack, with superb combinations between Vinicius, Benzema and Rodrygo, and mediocre in defence. On the hour mark, Kroos lost the ball on a raise, and Lucas Robertone was easily found from a cross by Fransisco Portillo, to reduce the mark. Madrid sped up late in the game, delivering some high-class, unfinished business. Real take a five-point lead over Atlético, who travel to Valladolid on Sunday. Almeria is only one point ahead of the first relegation player.
Player: Karim Benzema
It was possible to honor Rodrygo, very prominent on his right side, but Karim Benzema made the difference again on Saturday. In one half, the Ballon d’Or 2022 scored a hat-trick, which brought him back to Robert Lewandowski in the ranking of the Championship’s top scorers, with 18 goals. Constantly sought after by his Brazilian wingers, Benzema has always been available in the axis to conclude the actions. In the second half, he moved lower, to touch more balls and build the game. He got a penalty late in the game, finally refused for a foul he had committed earlier.
236
Karim Benzema scored the 236th goal of his La Liga career. He surpasses Real Madrid’s Mexican Hugo Sanchez, and becomes the 4th top scorer in the history of the Championship.