January 09, (THEWILL) – A double brace by their most in-form strikers saw Real Madrid extend their lead at the top of La Liga to eight points after defeating Valencia 4-1 on Saturday night.
Early in the first half, Eder Militao forced a save from Jasper Cillessen before Luka Modric smashed the crossbar from a distance.
But, Brazilian Casemiro was hauled down in the area minutes before the interval, allowing Karim Benzema to blast into the top corner for his 16th La Liga goal of the season. It was enough for the hosts to go into the break on the ascendancy.
In the second half, Vinicius Junior continued his brilliant goalscoring form, weaving his way past the Valencia defence and finishing into the far corner, with the keeping going the other way.
Vinicius got his second of the evening when Marco Asensio’s shot was deflected into the air by Cillesen, allowing him to finish easily to make it 3-0.
Valencia fought for a comeback and were awarded a penalty after Ferland Mendy brought Marcos Andre down in the box. Goncalo Guedes’ effort was stopped by Thibaut Courtois, but he nodded in the rebound for a goal for the visitors.
But Valencia were unable to mount a sustained fightback, and Benzema secured Real’s victory with a stunning fourth goal, twisting and firing in off the post, for his 300th goal in Whites of Real.
Los Blancos now lead Sevilla by eight points, despite having played two games more than their nearest rivals. Valencia, on the other hand, is in ninth place after 20 matches this season.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
