Real Madrid 4-0 Alaves: 5 Talking Points

Final scoreline: Real Madrid 4-0 Alaves

Goalscorers: Cristiano Ronaldo 44', 61' (Real Madrid), Gareth Bale 46' (Real Madrid), Karim Benzema 89' (Real Madrid)

The mighty Los Blancos continued with their merry winning ways, after putting Alaves away rather emphatically with a 4-0 scoreline. The hosts won their 5th consecutive game in all competitions - the first time they've achieved that this season - and their 4th consecutive game in La Liga -the second time they've achieved that this season.

Portuguese talisman Cristiano Ronaldo appropriately led the charge as he scored an important brace, to take his season's league tally to 14 goals - just 6 behind leader and arch-rival Lionel Messi.

Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema also found themselves on the scoresheet, to further enhance the importance of Real Madrid's current winning run, highlighting that they may well be back to their best.

Without further ado, here's a look at the 5 key talking points from the encounter at the Santiago Bernabeu:

#5 Is this the start of a turnaround to Karim Benzema's season?

After struggling for the most part of the ongoing season, Karim Benzema finally seemed to be returning to his best against Alaves, as he got two crucial assists and a goal. Having been booed regularly by Real Madrid fans this season, the Frenchman finally put up a performance that validated his presence in the side.

Despite missing his own chances to put himself on the scoresheet in the first half, he first set up Cristiano Ronaldo in the 44th minute of the game with an excellent back-heel, before assisting Gareth Bale in the 46th minute to help double Los Blancos' lead.

The Frenchman was then handed the responsibility of dispatching a penalty won by Gareth Bale in the dying moments of the game, and Benzema effortlessly found the back of the net to end a fabulous performance - One that is bound to boost his confidence ahead of the last stretch of the season.

#4 Gareth Bale gaining momentum

Ever since returning from injury, Real Madrid's resident speedster, Gareth Bale, has been relatively unstoppable. Often termed the weak link in Madrid's star-studded side due to injuries, the Welshman has made the most of his opportunities in recent times, to emphatically underline his importance to the side.

The 28-year-old was extremely impressive against Alaves as well, as he scored a goal, won a penalty and hit the post. An eventful game saw him make a total of 50 passes, of which 40 were accurate. He also took a total of 3 shots, of which one tragically hit the post.

More notably, Bale was at his athletic best as he made a stunning total of 8 successful dribbles, to add to a total of 85 touches throughout the game. All of a sudden, he now has 7 La Liga goals, and if he can keep his fitness in check, he's promising to end the season with a flourish.

#3 Ronaldo, oh Ronaldo

For the better part of this season, Cristiano Ronaldo has been conspicuous with his absence on La Liga's goalscoring charts - one that's been comfortably led by Lionel Messi all season. Suspension in the early part of the season and subsequent poor form didn't help Ronaldo's cause, but the legendary forward hasn't let that stop him from clawing back.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Ronaldo has amassed a total of 14 La Liga goals. (Let's just talk about La Liga for now, as he's been simply sensational in the UEFA Champions League and has only seemingly struggled in Spain's top-flight this season)

In 20 league appearances, Ronaldo has now scored 14, with his overall season tally reading 27 goals from 31 appearances in all competitions - which is rather phenomenal for someone who has supposedly "gone missing" for most of the season.

Going by current form, it's safe to say that Ronaldo is far from done, and is, in fact, only just finding his feet. Expect him to soon find the back of the net a lot more as well.

#2 Back to the drawing board for Alaves

Alaves entered this game on the back of a three-game winning streak. Notably, their last La Liga defeat came at the hands of Barcelona towards the end of last month. However, Abelardo Fernández's side proved to be no match for the mighty Real Madrid, as they were mercilessly pulled apart by Zinedine Zidane's side.

Barring a few excellent chances that they failed to capitalise on, Alaves were expectedly outplayed on the night, and could only muster 11 shots (of which 5 were on target), as compared to Madrid's 29 - Not a bad number of chances considering that they only maintained about 36% possession of the ball throughout the game.

While a win tonight could've taken Alaves to 12th on the La Liga table, this loss won't damage their season much, as they continue to sit on 28 points - 10 whole points away from the tensions of the relegation zone.

In comparison to last season (They finished 9th with 55 points), Alaves haven't been as efficient this season (They're 16th with 28 points from 24 games), and manager Abelardo Fernández will have to take his side back to the drawing board in order to hash out new strategies to hold them in good stead until the end of the season.

#1 BBC - A force to reckon with again?

Once one of the most feared trios in club football, BBC - consisting of Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, and Cristiano Ronaldo - have tortured and ripped apart countless defences in the past. However, this season, personal individual battles seem to have overwhelmed the three iconic figures, as all 3 have seemingly struggled - reflecting Madrid's woeful season.

However, against Alaves, the trio looked as intimidating as ever as they completely milked the occasion - assisting each other rather well. All 3 superstars managed to score goals, with the most noteworthy one being Karim Benzema's.

Gareth Bale sped into the box in the 89th minute, before being brought down by Alaves' Victor Laguardia. Cristiano Ronaldo had scored 2 goals by that time, and was expected to complete a well-deserved hat-trick by putting away the penalty.

Instead, in a stunning turn of events, Ronaldo allowed team-mate Karim Benzema to take it, thus allowing the Frenchman to also make his mark on the scoresheet.

For someone who has always been termed "selfish", putting a teammate's confidence ahead of his own hat-trick will not just win Ronaldo a number of hearts, but could also do wonders to Benzema's game, and the team's, on the whole.

Edited by Aakanksh Sanketh