Real Madrid closed April in the best possible way by beating Almería at the Santiago Bernabéu to notch up their 21st LaLiga win.
The victory was the result of a great first half from the team, with Benzema, who scored three goals in 37 minutes, the star of the show.
No sooner had the game begun than Madrid fired their first warning shot only for Fernando to save the captain’s effort with his knee after a cross from Vini Jr.
It didn’t take Ancelotti’s men much longer to open their account.
After five minutes, Militao started the move with a great cross-field pass for Vini Jr, who brought the ball down and beat his marker with some excellent dribbling.
The Brazilian assisted with the outside of his right boot for Benzema to make it 1-0.
The captain, who scored his 350th goal for Real Madrid, could have extended the lead in the 9th minute after a spectacular combination with Vini Jr, who gave the ball back to him with a splendid back-heel, but Fernando kept out the attempt.
Ancelotti’s side were in total control and made it 2-0 after a quarter of an hour with a Rodrygo masterpiece.
The Brazilian carried to the byline, knocked it past Samu and collected it on the other side to set up Benzema.
Real Madrid were delighting the fans by this point and then Ramazani brought down Lucas Vázquez in the box on 41 minutes.
Benzema stepped up to score the penalty, simultaneously tallying his third hat-trick of the season. However, before the break, Lázaro pulled one back with a first-time finish from Ramazani’s cross.
Real Madrid made it 4-1 after the re-start. Rodrygo was fed by Ceballos on the edge of the D, the Brazilian turned and fired the ball into the top corner of Fernando’s goal.
The intensity of the play did not wane and on the hour mark Almería got back into the game, as Robertone met Portillo’s cross from the right to power home a header.
The hosts soon hit back and Rodrygo’s diving header found the back of the net, but the goal was ruled out for offside against the forward.
Rodrygo went close to sealing a brace, but this time Fernando was on hand to palm away the Brazilian’s chipped effort. Soon after, the Almería keeper came to his side’s rescue again when he turned away Asensio’s fierce drive.
With 79 minutes on the clock, the referee awarded Madrid a penalty after Benzema was felled by Fernando.
However, the spot-kick was checked by the VAR and after checking the screen, the match official overturned the decision because of a foul on Ely in the build-up.
The madridista captain was hungry for more goals and almost got another in the 86th minute, but his shot came crashing back off the post.
Three minutes later, the hosts had another goal ruled out – this time Camavinga‘s effort was disallowed because Lucas Vázquez was offside.
Asensio then had two golden chances in the final minutes of play, but his was denied by the righthand post and then the crossbar. Read more.
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