Madrid: It was a quick hat trick for Karim Benzema, and a big win for Real Madrid ahead of the last “clasico” of the season.
Benzema scored his three goals in a seven-minute span as Madrid crushed Valladolid 6-0 in the Spanish league on Sunday, boosting the team’s morale before it faces Barcelona in the semifinals of the Copa del Rey.
“We will go to Barcelona with a lot of confidence after today’s game,” Madrid defender David Alaba said. “We know it’s going to be a different game, it will be tough, but we want to go there and try to get the victory.”
Madrid will travel to Barcelona needing to reverse on Wednesday a 1-0 first-leg loss from the Santiago Bernab u Stadium. Coach Carlo Ancelotti used Benzema and several other regular starters against Valladolid despite Madrid’s upcoming visit to the Camp Nou. Rodrygo, Marco Asensio and Lucas V zquez also scored for second-place Madrid, which now trails leader Barcelona by 12 points in the league after the Catalan club won at last-place Elche on Saturday. Madrid maintained its gap to third-place Atletico Madrid at five points.