Real Madrid cruised into third place in LaLiga after Karim Benzema inspired Santiago Solari's side to victory over Espanyol.
Match Report
Having lost 1-0 in the corresponding fixture last season, Madrid were quick to ensure they did not suffer a similar fate this time around – Benzema ending a three-match scoreless run before Sergio Ramos, who later went off injured, doubled the visitors' tally with his 50th headed goal for Los Blancos.
Leo Baptistao hauled Espanyol back into the contest, but Benzema had the final say of a frantic opening 45 minutes when he slotted in on the stroke of half-time.
Gareth Bale's goal three minutes after his introduction added further gloss, only for Raphael Varane's red card to make things complicated, but though Roberto Rosales' stunning volley set up a thrilling finale, Espanyol could not muster an unlikely comeback.
Player Ratings
Match Events
4'GOAL! Espanyol 0-1 Real Madrid (Benzema)
Modric does brilliantly to gallop towards goal with all the freedom of the pitch, and fires an effort that Diego Lopez has to beat away but for the unmarked Benzema to slot it in the back of the net for his eighth league goal of the season!
15'GOAL! Espanyol 0-2 Real Madrid (Ramos)
Real take advantage of Espanyol’s well-documented troubles with defending set-pieces. Modric whips in a teasing cross for the Los Blancos skipper to leap highest and meet with a looping header past a scrambling Diego Lopez for his third goal in two games!!
25'GOAL! Espanyol 1-2 Real Madrid (Baptistao)
Baptistao makes up for his miss only a minute ago with a powerful strike past Courtois after finding space in the Real box following a shot that was deflected by Vazquez!!
45'GOAL! Espanyol 1-3 Real Madrid (Benzema)
With half-time approaching, Kroos spreads the ball out wide to Benzema, who runs in on goal before attempting to play Vinicius but for the Brazilian wonderkid to get tackled at the vital moment, allowing the Frenchman to slot the loose ball past Diego Lopez to make it 3-1 at the worst possible time for Rubi’s charges!
67'GOAL! Espanyol 1-4 Real Madrid (Bale)
Vazquez does brilliantly to pick the pockets off Baptistao and plays in Benzema who runs into the area before exchanging passes with the winger only for the return ball to come to Bale, who is able to take advantage of the chaos in the box to take one touch before firing past Diego Lopez not long after coming on!
72'Red Card! Varane sent off
The substitute Piatti is brought down from behind just outside of the penalty area by the France defender, who happened to be the last man in defence. Real must soldier on with 10 men as Marcelo is being readied to come on.
81'GOAL! Espanyol 2-4 Real Madrid (Rosales)
Roca floats in a pearler of a pass towards the Real area, where the substitute Rosales finds himself with the freedom of the RCDE Stadium to power a first-time volley past a frozen Courtois!
Line-ups
Espanyol XI: Diego López, S.García, Dídac , J.López, S.Darder, Baptistao, Borja Iglesias, Hermoso, Lluís López, M.Roca, Alejandro López
Subs: Roberto Jiménez, Rosales, Granero, V.Sánchez, Piatti, Víctor Campuzano, Melendo
Real Madrid XI: Sergio Ramos, L. Modrić, Benzema, T. Kroos, T. Courtois, Casemiro, Daniel Carvajal, R. Varane, Lucas Vázquez, Reguilón, Vinícius Júnior
Subs: Bale, Marcelo, Isco, Nacho, Marcos Llorente, Ceballos, Luca Zidane
chidesco1
398
When will courtious ever keep a clean sheet again?
Longlife2000
368
🔄 Min. 63 - Onto the pitch ⚽ Min. 67 - Goal Bale faster than light! ⚡
arifk17
307
Give my man Karim Benzema all the praise for standing up in post Ronaldo era for Real Madrid. 15 goals , 6 assists & 40 chances created already. Mind you , this is without being primary penalty taker. Otherwise he’d be at 22 goals already. HALA MADRID!
IndianUTuber
279
Can anyone please explain me the RED card..??
RealMadrid309
228
Official: News jus in Ramos and Benzema in a heated battle for the number 9 role..
zeoabilmyz
213
When Benzema score 2 goals against you, then you deserve to lose by wide margin .
omarhal07467
200
Actually from what I saw yesterday,benzema can create a good history if he proceeds as the level he had given yesterday.I saw if solari chooses asensio,bale and benzema it gonna be a badass squad because there problem is in the attack not in the defense or in the midfield.i think benzema can’t shoulder all the burden;someone else has to share it with him.it might be hazard after the rumors that insure he will come to real madrid in the summer;i hope that happens.i don’t know why Real Madrid choose young players unlike barcelona most of the time.I think Real Madrid have offices in every delivery hospital and they asses if the new born babies have the proficiency that make them legible to join the club.
Jed
172
I’m thinking about giving Real Madrid attack new name (VBV)
IndianUTuber
159
Today this man was just phenomenal 🔥🔥 The most selfless player, who is always playing for the team not just for personal goals❤️ This man is getting back his intense form🔥 Real Madrid is back again with BANG😘😍 Hala Madrid🔥🔥
Nesaiknruy_Legend
153
Mia Khalifa has more clean sheets than Snakeois.... Jokes aside though I can't understand Benzema. One minute he's Morata and the next he's Icardi. Like damn, make up your mind... Otherwise a good win for Madrid but still in not convinced. The coach they have now will only take them so far and with Varane out with a suspension, the next game will be a test. But they've definitely got the squad, I just think they need direction from a top coach...
Min_11
127
What a complete performance by Benzema! No wonder he is still the first choice striker for any coach in Madrid! No wonder he still survives in Madrid for 9yrs as first choice striker! No matter how much people makes fun and jokes of him he still smiles and perform unselfish job in Madrid! So much fun watching him tonight!
keduo
99
1. Sergio Ramos has scored his 50th headed goal for realmadrid in all competitions (83 in total). 😍 2. Karim Benzema’s goal after 187 seconds is the fastest realmadrid have scored this season in all competitions. 3. realmadrid have won 72.7% of their games with Sergio Reguilon this season in all competitions (8/11) compared to 56.6% without him (13/23)
Ismitty
80
I'm Gald Real Madrid players have gotten their Scoring boots Back There was a time this season it was really hard for them to find the Back of the Net Who can Remember
phanuelogato
73
This should be ramos' role... He is a defender and scores in almost every match... Wow
getaway
60
Vinicius is very much raw, but seeing him reminds me of watching young Robinho run down the flank back in the day. The sole fact he’s been thrown into the spotlight at the biggest club in the world and has not crumbled, at 18 years of age, is huge. He’ll be a generational player very soon, and I don’t think he has the same lifestyle issues Robinho did.
10MESSILIONEL
59
When benzema scores a goal against you,you deserve to lose....but when he has 9.6 rating against you,you desreve to be relegated
trivedi
58
Benzema is a good number 9 coz he knows how to drags defenders so that midfielder can create something.He was ronaldo's back bone and now Real Madrid need 1 more striker in the team to overcome cr7's absence.
LaCeleste
46
Courtois is a special person.
arifk17
40
Broken finger benzema turning to a beast 3 games in a row avoided surgery to help us appreciate him ffs still some criticize him in our own fan base