2-0: Varane and Benzema strike to send Madrid top

[Real Madrid]
Real Madrid saw off Espanyol at the Bernabéu to temporarily move top of the LaLiga standings. The hosts took as much time as necessary to make the leap forward, with the opening objective just coming in the 37th moment. Raphaël Varane was the man to get it as he turned into the fifteenth madridista to have discovered the net so far this term. The Frenchman was played in by his countryman, Karim Benzema, and he delivered a slide-rule left-footed completion to beat Diego López, who was the guests' champion entertainer on the day.

The madridistas had formed various openings before breaking the halt. Undoubtedly, the primary open door came in the 6th moment following a hair-raising bit of play from Vinicius Jr., who was at last denied by Diego López when clean through. After eight minutes, Benzema attempted his karma yet his twisting exertion was accumulated in by the guests' overseer. Espanyol created a reaction and compromised the Madrid objective on 27', when Esteban Granero's projectile header was kept out by the plunging Thibaut Courtois. The last possibility before the break tumbled to Vinicius Jr., who neglected to improve of López following a free-streaming counter-assault that was started by Courtois two minutes before the interim.

Genuine Madrid headed into the changing areas at half-time one up, yet could without much of a stretch have broadened their lead not long after the restart. This time, López responded pointedly to keep out Benzema in a one-on-one, after a quick break on 53 minutes. The hosts' strength gave no indication of winding down and risks kept on streaming, however the limited bit of leeway implied the outcome could yet swing in any case. Benzema approached once more, benefitting from a glorious bit of individual aptitude by Vinicius Jr. on 70', however his left-footed exertion flew only wide of the guests' post.