La Liga: Benzema scores as Real Madrid win at Elche

Real Madrid defeated Elche to increase their lead at the top of La Liga to six points on the strength of a goal from Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema.

After having two prior attempts disallowed by the video assistant referee, Benzema linked up with Rodrygo before slotting home from 18 yards.

Following Federico Valverde’s goal, that increased Madrid’s lead by two goals.

Real increased their winning streak to ten games with a third goal from Marco Asensio.

With their victory in El Clasico on Sunday, Real extended their lead over rivals Barcelona by three points. Xavi’s team will have the chance to close the gap on Thursday when they host Villarreal.

Elche is currently last in La Liga, so it was going to be a difficult night from the get-go. After six minutes, Benzema had a goal disallowed for offside in the buildup.

After 11 minutes, Valverde’s left-footed outside-the-area goal gave Carlo Ancelotti’s team the lead. However, David Alaba and Karim Benzema’s goals were later disallowed for offside.

It left Benzema free to ironically draw a square in celebration of his fifth league goal of the year, much like the referee does during a VAR review.

Real, who have nine wins and one tie as they try to defend their league title, completed a lovely free-flowing move with a hooked finish from Asensio.

For the first time since the 1991–1992 season, they have won their first six away league games.