Real Madrid played, if not the worst match since the beginning of the season, then certainly the worst half, which allowed Espanyol to move towards winning all three points. The home team missed several great opportunities, Thibaut Courtois kept his team above water with excellent interventions, but then the moment came to put an end to the uncertainty. In the 88th minute, the incredible Karim Benzema slipped past Leandro Cabrera and then used a timely pass from Rodrygo to checkmate the helpless Benjamin Lecomte. That was not all from the incredible Frenchman, who also scored from a free kick in the 10th minute of stoppage time – 3:1 (1:1).28 – Karim Benzema 🇫🇷 has scored 28 goals for Real Madrid in 2022 in all competitions, no player from Europe’s big five leagues has netted more this year (28 also Kylian Mbappé 🇫🇷). Vital. pic.twitter.com/acme4ijnC6— OptaJose (@OptaJose) August 28, 2022 Benzema has definitely picked up where he left off last season, having scored three goals in the last two games in Primera. He only scored at the start against Almeria, and previously scored in the European Super Cup against Eintracht. The most important thing for the current champion of Europe and Spain is that after three rounds he kept the maximum performance of the points won, although there is no doubt that the excellent Diego Martinez’s team deserved much more tonight. However, for points against a team like Carlo Ancelotti’s squad, much more than “just” a good release is necessary.Espanyol’s players were not too impressed with Madrid’s first goal of the match, although it was an excellent moment of football. Real then demonstrated speed and football skill, and Aurelien Tchouameni connected Vinicius Junior with the goal for the lead. However, it didn’t take long for the hosts to realize that they were also capable of outplaying themselves. The Espanyol players started to combine well in their own half, and then they shone in the 43rd minute when after a series of passes, Joselu beat Courtois from the second attempt.It was the Belgian goalkeeper who was the most responsible for the fact that Real Madrid was able to chase a victory in the finish, instead of a draw, because he had a fantastic save from Joselu in the 59th minute. Benzema threatened just a few minutes later and then had his goal disallowed for offside in the 67th minute. However, there was no illegal position in the 88th minute, when he reacted excellently to Rodrygo’s pass. The situation before the third goal was preceded by the exclusion of Lecomte, who carelessly hit Ceballos, so he had to leave the game, and his place was forcibly taken by the captain of the home team, Cabrera. Experienced Benzema was targeting his corner, so there was no escape for Espanyol.LA LIGA – MATCHDAY 3FridayGirona – Celta 0-1 (0-0)/Aspas 49/Real Betis – Osasuna 1-0 (1-0)/Iglesias 34/SaturdayElche – Real Sociedad 0-1 (0-1)/Mendez 20/Rayo Vallecano – Mallorca 0-2 (0-1)/Muriqi 13, Lee 64/Almeria – Sevilla 2-1 (1-1)/Ramazani 42, Sadiq 55 – Torres 30/SundayGetafe – Villareal 0:0Barcelona – Valladolid 4-0 (2-0)/Lewandowski 24, 64, Pedri 43, Roberto 90+2/Espanyol – Real Madrid 1-3 (1-1)/Junior 12, Benzema 88, 90+12 – Joselu 43/Monday21.00: (3.70) Cadiz (3.10) Ath.Bilbao (2.30)23.00: (4.10) Valencia (3.40) Atletico Madrid (2.05)***odds are subject to change
