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FootballKarim Benzema Scores Brilliant Late Goals As Real Madrid Continue Unbeaten Start to New La Liga Season
- Real Madrid continued their unbeaten start to the season as they beat Espanyol in an action-packed game
- Joselu leveled matters before the stroke of halftime but Real Madrid scored two late goals to win the game
- Karim Benzema once again stole the show as he grabbed two late goals to give Real Madrid victory
Real Madrid go marching on. Los Blancos required late heroics from Karim Benzema to down Espanyol in Barcelona.
In a first half played at an extremely fast tempo, Madrid dominated possession, leaving Espanyol with no real chance going forward until the last ten minutes.
Vinícius Júnior was the biggest threat for Madrid going forward and grabbed Los Blancos’ first goal in the 12th minute. Vini Jr ran onto a brilliant through ball by Aurélien Tchouaméni and slid the ball past Espanyol keeper Benjamin Lecomte. Lecomte then had to push the ball over the bar minutes later as Vini Jr again threatened.
The Brazilian again came close to scoring but his curled effort flew just over the bar. While Madrid were trying to kill off the game, Espanyol were slowly working their way back into the encounter.
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The home side had numerous corners but their first real big chance came just after the 40-minute mark when Leandro Cabrera headed just wide from a corner. Two minutes later, they got their equaliser through Joselu.
Joselu’s original shot was saved by Thibaut Courtois. Courtois’ save flew into the back of Éder Militão and deflected back into the path of Joselu who made no mistake with his second attempt.
Espanyol started the second half on the front foot and bullied Madrid on more than one occasion. The pace of the game was as quick as the first half, with end-to-end action being the order of the game.
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FootballKarim Benzema then put Madrid in front but the goal was quickly chalked off due to offside. With the clock ticking on, both sides had decent chances to take the lead and it didn’t look likely to happen until Benzema stole the show.
The French striker brilliantly finished a smart cross from Rodygro in the 87th minute to give Madrid the lead.
Things went from bad to worse for Espanyol as the home side were reduced to ten men. Lecomte was sent off for a tackle on Dani Ceballos. The keeper rushed out of his box to deal with a ball, took out his own player in the process, and then accidentally took out Ceballos as the Madrid player attacked the ball.
With Espanyol making all their substitutions already, central defender Cabrera was forced to put on the keeper’s shirt.
Sadly he could just stand and watch as Benzema banged in a second from the resulting freekick. Benzema smashed the ball through the wall and past the helpless defender turned keeper.
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FootballEspanyol aiming to cause major upset against Spanish champions Real Madrid in La Liga
Earlier Sports Brief reported that Real Madrid will be looking to make it three wins out of three when they travel to take on Espanyol in La Liga.
Los Blancos had a mini scare against Almeria in their opening game before taking crushing Celta Vigo.
Espanyol, on the other hand, have picked up just one point from their first two fixtures and are looking to turn their season around.