Real Madrid defeated Elche 4-0 on Wednesday to close the gap on La Liga leaders Barcelona to eight points thanks to two penalties from Karim Benzema.
The side of Carlo Ancelotti did not compete over the weekend due to their participation in the Club World Cup in Morocco, which they showcased to fans at the Santiago Bernabeu.
After the European Super Cup, it was Madrid’s second title of the year, but if they want to add La Liga to their collection, they have a lot of work ahead of them.
Marco Asensio opened the scoring and veteran midfielder Luka Modric rounded off the rout on an easy night for Los Blancos.
“Here nothing is impossible,” Eduardo Camavinga told DAZN, pledging to fight for the title until the end of the season.
“We saw it last season in the Champions League and we will play until the end.”
After spending some time on the left side of the defense, the French midfielder stated he was glad to be back in the middle of the field.
“I like playing as pivot more, I’m not a full-back, I played there to help the team,” he added.
“Today I was a pivot and I am happy.”
Vinicius Junior, a Madrid winger, was absent due to a suspension, while Antonio Rudiger had to move to the bench since Eder Militao had recovered from an injury.
Elche, a bottom-of-the-table visitor with just one victory all year, was the perfect opponent for Madrid to open their league campaign against.
Before the game, Pablo Machin’s team presented the hosts with a guard of honor, and things only got easier for Los Blancos after that.
After eight minutes, Marco Asensio scored a beautiful individual goal for the Spanish champions by driving into the box and shooting into the bottom corner.
Edgar Badia stopped one of Benzema’s shots, and after nodding a decent chance off goal, he didn’t have to wait long.
After 30 minutes, Enzo Roco touched the French forward’s header in the box, and from the resulting penalty spot, Benzema sent Badia the wrong way.
Before the break, Rodrygo outmuscled Diego Gonzalez before being carelessly brought down, earning Madrid a second penalty.
After aiming his first shot into the top right corner, Benzema selected the top left this time, and even though Badia moved in that direction, he was unable to claw the ball free.
Benzema now has 11 league goals for the season, three fewer than Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski, who leads the league in scoring.
Madrid cruised through the second half so they could conserve energy for what appears to be going to be a much tougher encounter on Saturday at Osasuna.
After the break, reigning Ballon d’Or winner Benzema missed another fantastic opportunity to score and was removed from the game by Ancelotti in the 77th minute before he could score his third goal.
Despite Benzema’s recent injury recovery, the Madrid coach was not taking any chances.
