La Liga, Real Madrid beat Alaves 3-0: Records broken
What's the story
Three second-half goals helped Real Madrid overcome Alaves 3-0 in a crucial La Liga encounter.
With this win, Real have moved seven points clear at the top.
Marco Asensio, Vinicius Junior, and Karim Benzema scored for the hosts.
Benzema was influential, making two assists as well.
Earlier, Atletico Madrid beat Osasuna 3-0 to get much needed confidence.
Here are the details.
Details
How did the match pan out?
Real failed to create any clear-cut chances in the first half and broke the deadlock on 63 minutes through Marco Asensio's curling strike.
The home fans were left frustrated for most parts of the game, but Vinicius grabbed a second from close range to bring some respite.
The veteran Benzema converted an injury-time penalty for Real's third of the night.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Real weren't convincing until the first goal arrived and from there on they grew into the game.
This was a much needed three points to gain vitality at the top.
Real have 57 points and are seven ahead of Sevilla, who have played one game less.
Carlo Ancelotti will be targeting the league title this season and Real are heading towards that direction.
Feats
Feats achieved by Benzema
He has scored 18 La Liga goals, besides making nine assists to take his tally to 27.
Benzema has gone level with Robert Lewandowski (26 goals and one assist) for the highest goal involvement in Europe's top five leagues.
Overall, Benzema has raced to 25 goals this season across competitions.
He has scored 25-plus goals for the fourth successive season.
Records
Notable records scripted in the match
As per Opta, only Ruslan Malinovskyi (six) has scored more goals from outside the box than Marco Asensio this season across all competitions among players in Europe's big five leagues (five, level with Fabian Ruiz and Leroy Sane.
There were 14 passes in the build-up to Vinicius' goal for Real against Alaves (third-longest passing sequence leading to a goal in La Liga in 2022).
Do you know?
Benzema now has 304 goals for Real
In 589 matches for Real, Benzema has scored a total of 304 goals. He also has 210 goals in La Liga, having played 405 games to date. He has also raced to 385 career club goals in total.