Another weekend of La Liga football, another victory for Real Madrid and, of course, a winning goal for Los Blancos’ goal machine Karim Benzema.
The French hit man pounced in the 83rd minute of a tight game away to Rayo Vallecano to extend Real Madrid’s lead at the top of the table to nine points, and increase his lead in the chase for the Golden Boot to six goals, ahead of strike partner Vinicius Junior. After a frustrating 80 minutes the two players cut eventually cut through the Rayo defence with a smart interchange of passes, leading to Benzema slotting home his 19th of the campaign from close range.
If Real Madrid win the 2022 title, and the latest La Liga 2022 betting odds say they will take some stopping, then Benzema will be the man who deserves a lot of the credit. Sure thing, head coach Carlo Ancelotti has a great group of players to choose from, particularly in midfield where the experienced trio of Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Casemiro continue to deliver week on week. But someone has to strike the vital blow at the right time and Benzema is a master at bringing home the three points.
Even in a game where the hosts won the shot count by 19 to 13 Benzema hit the crucial blow and in a stellar career for Los Blancos he has hit the net an incredible 211 times in 406 appearances. As one of the best strikers in recent La Liga history Benzema is a jewel in Los Blancos’ crown.
Sevilla are still hard to shake off
Madrid fans had their eyes on the La Liga 2022 results on Sunday as second placed Sevilla hosted third-placed Real Betis. And Los Sevillistas moved to within six points of the top and eight ahead of Betis with a 2-1 win. Ivan Rakitic opened the scoring from the penalty spot and Munir added a second before the break. Sevilla were comfortable enough in the second half though Sergio Canales scored a 94th minute consolation with a brilliantly taken free kick.
Next up Betis have a Copa del Rey semi-final clash with Rayo Vallecano and that’s a game we’ll be previewing here at SBOTOP, so look out for the stats, the tips and the best range of Asian Handicap Betting when we’re back in midweek.
Sevilla are away to Alaves in a league game next Friday, and can close the gap to the top to three points.
Lodi at the double for Atleti
Atletico Madrid were frustrated in midweek when they were held to a 1-1 draw with Manchester United in the Champions League but they roared back with a 2-0 victory over Celta Vigo on Saturday as Renan Lodi scored in either half to claim all three points. He sometimes goes under the radar at the Wanda Metropolitano but the Brazilian wingback is a key man in Diego Simeone’s line-up and he doubled his scoring tally, making it four goals in 74 appearances with this man-of-the-match performance.
Defensive midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia became creator twice, teeing up the opener which Lodi fired into the bottom left corner and when Kondogbia found him in space on the hour, the man in form slotted home coolly for his and Atleti’s second. The win took Los Rojiblancos up into fourth place but Barcelona play Athletic Bilbao on Sunday night and a victory for Xavi’s men would hand them that final Champions League spot, but with 12 games to play there are plenty of twists and turns to come.
Villarreal have a new hero
One team you can’t rule out is Unai Emery’s Villarreal as they currently sit in fifth place after hammering Espanyol 5-1. This result follows two impressive performances over the past week as the Yellow Submarine thrashed Granada 4-1 before holding Juventus to a 1-1 draw in the Champions League.
Emery’s side are in Europe’s premier competition having won the Europa League in 2021 and they have a chance of gracing the Champions League again next term. The club is blessed with talent from front to back with the likes of Pau Torres, Dani Parejo and Paco Alcacer to call on, and now a 19-year-old winger is grabbing the headlines. Canary Islander Yeremi Pino has become a feature in the first 11 this term and he scored four goals in Villarreal’s destruction of the Catalans. He opened the scoring with a fine header on 14 minutes, adding his second with a clinical close range finish with his right foot on 20. He completed his hat-trick with his left, just before the break, and finished off a quick break early in the second half for this fourth. Pino already has two full caps for Spain and has a bright future, and Villarreal will hope to hold on to him for a few seasons to come.
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