Real Madrid reclaimed their top spot in the latest La Liga standings as they defeated the bottom-placed Espanyol by 1:0 on Sunday. The victory means that Sergio Ramos led side have again surpassed their arch-rivals Barcelona with 71 points to their name in 21 wins.
Karim Benzema unsettled the defence of the Espanyol on the stroke of half-time with his lofty back-heel, creating a goal opportunity for the mid-fielder Casemiro as he netted a fantastic goal.
Zinedine Zidane‘s men were terrific on the matchday, keeping 69% possession of the ball during the whole match and drawing an emphatic victory in the end.
Espanyol had created an ample of chances in the match but the Madrid goalkeeper was superb at the goal post as he made five saves and refusing them a single goal.
Abelardo Fernández’s side exhibited beautiful offensive displays, with their striker Wu Lei creating many scoring chances to his side faint hopes of avoiding relegation.
However, Real Madrid kept their shirt on, thereby securing their fifth-consecutive victory since the season’s restart. They also capitalised on Barcelona‘s draw against Celta Vigo by 2:2 to hop onto the 1st place in the rankings.
Madrid can also count on the rivals Atletico as they meet Barcelona this Wednesday and a defeat to Barcelona will help Zinedine Zidane’s side to remain the number one side in La Liga with six more games to play.
Meanwhile, Espanyol remains rooted to the basement of the table with just five wins and 24 points. Their next fixture is against Real Sociedad at the Reale Arena, while Real Madrid faces Getafe this Friday.
