Real Madrid have cut Barcelona’s lead at the summit of La Liga to eight points after victory over Alaves at the Bernabeu.
Ernesto Valverde’s side were held to a 2-2 draw by Valencia with Atletico Madrid, sat second in Spain’s top flight, losing to Betis this weekend.
Real took full advantage of both those results with Karim Benzema, Vinicius Jnr and Mariano Diaz on target on Sunday evening. Santiago Solari’s side are now just two points behind neighbours Atletico ahead of the Madrid derby on Saturday.
Benzema continued his superb run of form, scoring his sixth goal in his last four appearances after he tapped home from close range after some fine work down the left from Sergio Reguilon on the half hour mark.
Vinicius doubled his side’s lead with 10 minutes of the match remaining. The 18-year-old started the move himself, spreading play to find Marco Asensio who danced into the box before sending a pass across goal.
Vinicius was back on the end of it, coolly slotting past Fernando Pacheco Flores in the Alaves goal.
Moments after seeing his effort ruled out for offside, Alvaro Odriozola provided a stunning cross for his side’s third with Mariano finding the back of the net with a superb diving header.
