On paper, this was the derby, on the field it was a one-team game. Conceived as a treat of the day, the clash between Real and Valencia turned into a cat-and-mouse game during which the Primera leader corrected a mess from a visit to the Madrid suburbs (defeat by Getafe), routinely reached the 15th victory of the season and shifted the burden to Seville, before their duel with Getafe – 4:1.3️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ -Karim Benzema scores his 3️⃣0️⃣0️⃣th goal for Real Madrid in all competitions. He is the 4️⃣th player to reach this milestone450 – Cristiano Ronaldo🇵🇹323 – Raúl🇪🇸308 – Alfredo Di Stéfano🇦🇷300 – Karim Benzema🇫🇷#RealMadridValencia pic.twitter.com/nurbSKR0uB— Gracenote Live (@GracenoteLive) January 8, 2022 The Royal Club cemented the first place on the table by dictating the pace all the time, demonstrating the difference in class over a rival that is better than previous seasons, but not good enough to cope with Carlo Ancelotti’s squad.In mid-September, Real conquered Mestalla with a turnaround directed by Vinicius Jr. and Karim Benzema, so that the Brazilian first scored in two minutes (86th and 88th) and then assisted the Frenchman. Something similar happened at the “Santiago Bernabeu” stadium, but the home crowd was deprived of uncertainty. The match was broken before the end of the first and the beginning of the second part, and again the main protagonists were football players from those two countries.After the home team was awarded a penalty, Benzema stepped in and went from 11 meters straight into history. As of Saturday night, he is the fourth Real player with at least 300 goals for the club. Only Cristiano Ronaldo (450), Raul Gonzalez Blanco (323), and Alfredo di Stefano (308) gave more. Benzema played another perfect match and again was accompanied by Vinicius Jr., who also scored a brace. Consequence: after this game, Real has two players at the top of the list of scorers (Benzema 17, Vinicius 12 goals), has eight points more than Sevilla (with two matches more), and 17 more than Barcelona. They are not in the same category. LA LIGA – Round 20SaturdayLevante – Mallorca 2-0 (0-0)/Soldado 47, Morales 90+7/Sociedad – Celta 1-0 (1-0)/Oyarzabal 13/Granada – Barcelona 1-1 (0-0)/De Jong 57-Puertas 89/Real Madrid – Valencia 4-1 (1-0)/Benzema 43 (p), 88, Vinicius 52, 61 – Guedes 76/Sunday16.00: (2.60) Rayo Vallecano (3.30) Betis (2.90)18.15: (1.60) Sevilla (3.70) Getafe (7.50)20.30: (4.10) Alaves (3.40) Ath.Bilbao (2.05)20.30: (1.75) Osasuna (3.50) Cadiz (5.80)23.00: (2.90) Villareal (3.20) Atl.Madrid (2.70)Monday23.00: (1.90) Espanyol (3.50) Elche (4.70)***odds are subject to change
