Benzema strikes twice as Real Madrid beat Elche 4-0

Real Madrid defeated Elche 4-0 at home in La Liga, reclaiming an eight-point advantage over league-leading Barcelona. Madrid is second in the rankings with 48 points from 21 games, following table-toppers Barcelona, who are on a 12-game winning run. Madrid won the Club World Cup on Saturday for a record-extending fifth time. Coach Carlo Ancelotti told DAZN, "We played a solid game with a lot of control. We had many opportunities and controlled ourselves effectively in the final third, avoiding their counterattacks by keeping a close watch on them. It was a good game that occurred at a crucial time in the season. Without the suspended Vinicius Jr. Real wasted little time in scoring through Marco Asensio, Karim B. Benzema, and Luka Modric.and had the opportunity to get the game started four minutes in, but defender Eder Militao nearly missed the goal from a distance. Sensio, though, easily slid past the Elche defence four minutes later and buried a low drive inside the bottom left corner to give Real the lead. Just after the halfway point, they increased their lead with a penalty kick from striker Benzema, who drilled it into the top right corner after Carlo Ancelotti's team was penalised for a handball.By scoring goal number 229, the Frenchman overtook former captain Raul Gonzalez (228) to move into the fifth-highest scoring spot in LaLiga and to become Real Madrid's second-best scorer overall, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo (311 goals). One minute into first-half stoppage time, the France forward made it 3-0 with another penalty that Real was given for fouling Rodrygo. Rodrygo himself had two excellent opportunities to score early in the second half, but Elche goalkeeper Edgar Badia stopped both of them.The score was again raised in the 80th minute by a fantastic strike by Modric from the edge of the area as the hosts continued to dominate possession and generate chances. Elche's greatest opportunity came in the 38th minute when Jose Angel Carmona, a defender, connected with a pinpoint ball inside the box, but his powerful shot missed to the left. At a press conference, coach Pablo Machin stated, "We are all aware of our circumstances. "Finals are the only thing left for us." With just one victory throughout the 2022–23 season and no clean sheets in any of their 21 games, they are still at the bottom of the standings and 12 points from safety.