Benzema steps up for Real; Atletico beaten

MADRID: Karim Benzema scored twice and Gareth Bale notched another for Real Madrid in a 4-1 thrashing of Leganes on Saturday after Atletico Madrid crashed to defeat in La Liga.

Benzema grabbed a secondhalf double and might have got his hat-trick had Sergio Ramos passed on the penalty he scored after a foul on Marco Asensio.

Atletico lost more ground on their neighbours as they sank to a 2-0 defeat at Celta Vigo which coach Diego Simeone described as “a major wake-up call”.

At the Santiago Bernabeu, Bale broke the deadlock with a smart half-volley, which was briefly cancelled out by Leganes’ Guido Carrillo, who converted his own spot-kick to ensure Thibaut Courtois’ first Madrid contribution was to pick the ball out of his own net.

Benzema was unlucky to restore the lead when his fired shot was denied only by the foot of Cuellar but the striker did not have to wait long. Three minutes into the second half he headed in Asensio’s cross from the left after winning a tussle with Leganes’ Jonathan Silva.

Referee Jaime Latre initially blew for a foul but, after consulting VAR, the replay showed Silva had been the aggressor and the goal stood.

There was no doubt about Benzema’s second. He exchanged a one-two with Modric on the edge of the area and, drifting right, dragged his shot left, back across goal and into the bottom corner.

He might have had his hattrick had Ramos opted to delegate penalty duties after Asensio fell over a thoughtless challenge from Leganes captain Unai Bustinza. But Ramos took the spotkick and made no mistake.

Atletico coach Simeone said he “assumed responsibility” as his side went down to goals from Celta’s Maximilian Gomez and Spain forward Iago Aspas.

Atletico drew their opener against Valencia before making amends with a 1-0 home win over Rayo Vallecano but they have now dropped points for the second time this season.