Karim Benzema scored two out of three awarded penalties and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois pulled off a few classy stops to deny Celta Vigo and drive Real Madrid to a barely deserved victory on Saturday night.You can go a long way in football if you’ve got a quality goalkeeper and someone who can put the ball in the back of the net. And Real Madrid certainly boast a shot-stopper and a striker of the highest class. Courtois and Benzema did their respective jobs admirably on their team’s trip to the northwest of Spain.Celta fans are going to be bitterly frustrated tonight after watching their beloved team dominate Real Madrid for most of the match but somehow ended up on the losing side. Former Manchester City forward Nolito did level for the sky blues early in the second half, but that only added to the sense of injustice in the long run – because the team from the capital would get two more chances to win from the spot.With 66 minutes on the clock, Benzema placed the ball on the spot again but was this time thwarted by Celta’s Argentinean goalkeeper Matias Dituro. The home team was still on the road to a fine result against La Liga leaders. But they were made to pay the penalty.Celta’s right-back Kevin fouled Ferland Mendy in the box and the ref didn’t hesitate. For the third time, he pointed to the spot. And this time, Benzema made no mistake. He put the ball in the bottom corner to make it 2-1.They say that you win league titles if you’re winning matches even when you’re not playing all that well. If that’s the case then Estadio Santiago Bernabeu will undoubtedly be the destination of the league trophy come the end of the season.LA LIGA – ROUND 30SaturdayGetaffe – Mallorca 1-0 (0-0)/Mayoral 82/Celta Vigo – Real Madrid 1-2 (0-1)/Nokito 53 – Benzema 19 pen, 69 pen/22.00: (1.38) Atl.Madrid (4.60) Alaves (9.00)Sunday15.00: (1.53) Ath.Bilbao (4.10) Elche (7.75)17.15: (2.10) Betis (3.50) Osasuna (3.80)19.30: (1.90) Valencia (3.40) Cadiz (4.30)19.30: (2.65) Granada (3.05) Rayo Vallecano (2.85)22.00: (1.53) Barcelona (4.10) Sevilla (6.50)*** odds are subject to change
