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First Division - Day 23

Real Madrid 4 - Villarreal 2

Madrid: Diego López; Dani Carvajal, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo (Coentrao 17’, Arbeloa 46’); Modric, Illarramendi, Di María (Xabi Alonso 67’); Bale, Benzema, Jesé. 4-3-3.
Villarreal: Sergio Asenjo, Mario, Musacchio, Dorado, Jaume Costa; Javier Aquino, Edu Ramos (Manu Trigueros 57’), Bruno, Moi Gómez (Joan Román 62’); Jonathan Pereira (Perbet 67’), Giovani. 4-4-2.

Goals:
1-0. 07. Bale. Won ball off Dorado and ran on to lift shot over Sergio Asenjo.
2-0. 24. Benzema. Got ahead of marker to poke Bale cross in on near post.
2-1. 42. Mario. Picked up Aquino pass and cut in to fire shot past Diego López.
3-1. 64. Jesé. Ran on to Di María through ball and jabbed shot past keeper.
3-2. 69. Giovani. Curled long free kick over defensive wall wide of keeper.
4-2. 75. Benzema. Drilled low shot inside near post after Jesé passed across.

Yellow cards: Jaume Costa 54’, Mario 58’.

A Real Madrid side missing the suspended Ronaldo took over top spot pending Barcelona’s game at Sevilla on Sunday after they clocked up a comfortable 4-2 victory against fifth placed Villarreal on Saturday evening. Although Giovani was unlucky to be pulled up for a non-existent offside when he got free early on, Gareth Bale opened the scoring after he won the ball off Dorado and ran through to lob a shot over Sergio Asenjo. Twenty minutes later Benzema got on the end of Bale’s cross to make it two, and although Mario cut in from outside of the area to get one back three minutes before the break (the first goal Madrid had let in at home in over three months), Di María and Carvajal could both have restored the two goal cushion either side of half time. Midway through the second half Jesé ran on to a Di María through ball to score his side’s third, but once again the visitors came back, Giovani beating Diego López with a well struck free kick. Jaume Costa was lucky to be let off a penalty appeal a few minutes later when Arbeloa’s shot hit him on the arm, but Benzema wrapped things up with his second of the night after Jesé passed across from left of the area with a quarter of an hour to go. That left Madrid a goal short of overtaking Atlético Madrid in the table, but in the end they edged past their city rivals on goal difference after Simeon’s side lost 2-0 at Almería later in the evening.