Karim Benzema continued his fine form in front of goal as Real Madrid temporarily moved top of LaLiga after seeing off Espanyol at the Santiago Bernabeu.
LaLiga
Teams: Real Madrid 2-0 Espanyol
Date: 07 December 2019
Venue: Santiago Bernabeu
Zinedine Zidane were without the services of Eden Hazard and Marcelo, as Ferland Mendy and Vinicius Junior were handed starts for Los Blancos.
Los Blancos dominated from the onset as Brazilian duo Vinicius and Rodrygo Goes both went close to scoring in the opening 15 minutes of the first half.
While Espanyol provided no real threat at the other end, the home side went on to break the deadlock on 37 minutes with Raphael Varane slotting home at the far post after some good work by Karim Benzema.
The hosts went close to bagging a second goal just before the halftime break through Vinicius, who unleashed a smashing effort that turned away by goalkeeper Diego Lopez.
Espanyol nearly restored parity against the run of play 10 minutes into the second half, with Wu unleashing a strike from distance that crashed against the upright.
Both sides opted for a change soon after as Los Blancos introduced Luka Modric for Toni Kroos, while former Real midfielder Granero made way for Pol Lozano for the visitors.
It was Los Blancos who got the next goal as Federico Valverde did well to get in the box before picking out Benzema, who slotted home from six-yards out.
It was not all smooth sailing for the home side, who had to finish the game with ten men after Ferland Mendy picked up his second yellow card of the game in the final eight minutes of the game.
