Spanish La Liga
Result: Real Madrid 3-2 Levante
Date: 14 September 2019
Venue: Estadio Santiago Bernabéu
A brace from Karim Benzema helped Real Madrid secure a 3-2 victory over Levante in a LaLiga match on Saturday afternoon.
The home team dominated from the onset and controlled the flow of play, but they were thwarted early on by the brilliance of Levante goalkeeper Aitor Fernandez Abarisketa.
In the 17th minute Fernandez pulled off a miraculous save to deny Toni Kroos from close range following a goalmouth scramble inside the box.
The goalkeeper was on hand again three minutes later, this time producing an acrobatic save to tip an 18-yard shot from Benzema over the crossbar.
In the 25th minute Levante’s resistance finally caved when Benzema headed home a Daniel Carvajal cross to give Real Madrid the lead, 1-0.
Six minutes later Madrid doubled their lead when James Rodriguez slipped Benzema through on goal and he made no mistake with just the keeper to beat as he scored his second goal of the game, 2-0.
In the 40th minute, the home side tightened their grip on the game further when some superb play from Junior Vinicius saw him beat a couple of defenders before playing Casemiro into space and he duly tapped home from a couple of yards out, 3-0
The start of the second half saw Levante mount a bit of a comeback as they managed to pull a goal back five minutes after the restart when Borja Mayoral found the back of the net from just inside the box, 3-1.
On the hour mark Benzema nearly completed his hat-trick when he unleashed a powerful shot from the edge of the box, but his effort struck the woodwork.
In the 75th minute, Levante pulled another goal back when Gonzalo Melero met a corner-kick with a strong header which found the back of the net, 3-2.
Levante threw players forward in the final ten minutes, but Real Madrid held on for the win.
