Karim Benzema scored two goals from two penalties in the first half, leading Real Madrid, the defending champion, to a 4-0 victory over his guest, Elche, bottom of the standings, in the Spanish First Division, on Wednesday.
Real has now scored 48 points from 21 matches and ranks second, eight points behind leaders Barcelona, who maintained their unbeaten record in 12 matches.
Real coach Carlo Ancelotti told the Dazon Broadcasting Service, “We played a good game, and we controlled it. We dealt well in the attacking third, and we had many chances and succeeded in preventing Elche from counter-attacks.”
“It was a good game in an important period of the season,” he added.
Real, who was suspended by Vinicius Junior, almost opened the scoring early, but defender Eder Militao’s attempt went wide after four minutes.
Marco Asensio scored in the eighth minute with a powerful ground strike in Real’s first match, which won the Club World Cup last Saturday.
Benzema added the second goal after half an hour of play after a penalty kick due to handball.
Benzema raised his score to 229 goals, surpassing Raul Gonzalez’s 228, to fifth place in the history of the league’s top scorers, and the second for Real, behind Cristiano Ronaldo’s 311.
The French forward made it 3-0 in first-half stoppage time after being awarded another penalty following a foul on Rodrygo.
Real continued to possess the ball, and Luka Modric completed the goals with a perfect shot into the top corner from the edge of the penalty area in the 80th minute.
“We are aware of our position in the league and the upcoming matches are like final confrontations,” said Elche coach Pablo Machin.
Elche is at the bottom of the standings with nine points and is 12 points behind the safety zone, as it achieved one win this season, and did not come out with a clean sheet in 21 games.
