Benzema scores twice as Real Madrid beat Alaves: Records broken
Karim Benzema scored a brace as Real Madrid beat Alaves 4-1 in the latest La Liga fixture on Saturday. Meanwhile, Eden Hazard also scored a goal and set up another, putting them in front. Real Madrid, who were without manager Zinedine Zidane due to COVID-19, pulled off a rather one-sided victory eventually. Here are the records broken.
Madrid took an early lead when Casemiro headed home in the 15th minute from a corner kick. A few minutes later, Benzema (41') and Hazard (45'+1') added a pair before half-time as Madrid took a 3-0 lead into the break. Notably, Alaves pulled one back, with Joselu striking in the 59th minute. However, Benzema netted the decider shortly after the hour mark.
As per Opta, Benzema has scored at least 15 goals in ten out of their eleven seasons for Real Madrid across all competitions (15 in 2020/21 season). Interestingly, Hazard has scored and assisted (both) in a single game for Real Madrid across all competitions for the second time. He achieved this milestone for the first time against Granada in October 2019 at Santiago Bernabeu.
This was the first goal for Hazard in nearly three months. Notably, he registered only his third goal in La Liga and first in the league away from home since joining from Chelsea for 100 million euros.
Only Bayern Munich have scored more headed goals than Real Madrid (12) in the Top 5 European Leagues across all competitions this season. As of now, the tally of Madrid is at par with Tottenham Hotspur.
Real Madrid earned only their second victory from last six games in all competitions. Speaking on the victory, Benzema said, "We know every game is difficult, we always try to put in our best performance but sometimes it's hard when teams defend deep. But today the goals kept flowing and that's good for everyone, especially after the week we've had."
