Reigning La Liga champions Real Madrid claimed a comprehensive 2-0 victory over rivals Atletico Madrid to close the gap to the top of the table to just three points. The result saw Real Madrid record successive league victories after a long time out and it was quite the opposite for Atletico who suffered their first defeat of the season.
Los Blancos came into the game with full confidence after a victory against Monchengladbach from during the week and that proved to work well in their favor.
Real Madrid took the lead early on via a header from Casemiro and that gave them some cushion to work with. There was to be more misery for Atletico in the second half when an unfortunate own-goal from Jan Oblak doubled Real Madrid’s lead.
It was a game where Real Madrid was largely dominant and were the better side for most of the game. The result now means Atletico are without a win against Los Blancos in their last nine meetings.
Elsewhere, there was a milestone for Benzema who overtook Brazilian legend Roberto Carlos to become the foreign player with the most appearances for Real Madrid. The Frenchman is already no doubt a club legend in many aspects as it stands.
Real Madrid are now up to 23 points and only three behind Real Sociedad and Atletico. However, Atletico have two games in hand even as they remain joint-leaders in the La Liga.
Madrid return to the pitch against Athletic Bilbao at home on Tuesday while Atletico will turn their focus to the Copa del Rey where they take on Cardassar on Wednesday.
