9th January, 2022
Real Madrid strike duo Karim Benzema and Vinicius Jr were on song Saturday as they netted a brace each to give the LaLiga leaders a comfortable 4-1 home win over Valencia.
The victory put them back on track after last weekend’s disappointing loss to Getafe.
It also offered some confidence back as the team embark on a new competition Wednesday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: the Spanish Super Cup.
Benzema opened the scoring shortly before halftime from the penalty spot, his 300th goal in all competitions for Real.
He is the fourth player in the club’s history to reach the milestone after Alfredo di Stefano (308), Raul (323) and Cristiano Ronaldo (450).
Fan favourite Vinicius, who missed Real’s last two games after testing positive for COVID-19, came back with a vengeance and scored twice early in the second half.
Goncalo Guedes scored Valencia’s consolation goal in the 76th minute with a header on the rebound after Thibaut Courtois had saved his penalty kick.
Benzema sealed the emphatic win two minutes from the end with a low shot from inside the box.
Benzema’s goals meant he stayed clear at the top of the scoring charts in LaLiga this season with 17, followed by Vinicius on 12.
Together they have scored 29 of Real’s 45 league goals this campaign.
“It’s an honour and I’m proud to reach 301 goals with Real Madrid because they are the best club in the world,” Benzema told reporters.
“We played a great game for ourselves but also for the fans, who deserved it after the loss to Getafe.”
Real Madrid have now extended their lead at the top of the standings to 49 points from 21 games, eight points ahead of Sevilla who have two games in hand.
Sevilla will host Getafe on Sunday.