"Surpassed Ronaldo's legacy" "Chased Messi out of La Liga" - Twitter erupts as Karim Benzema stars in Real Madrid's 6-0 win with 7-minute hat-trick

Real Madrid demolished Real Valladolid 6-0, courtesy of a Karim Benzema hat-trick at the Santiago Bernabeu in La Liga on Sunday, April 2. They reduced their gap on league leaders Barcelona to 12 points. Fans on Twitter reacted to the convincing performance by Carlo Ancelotti's team.

Los Blancos entered the La Liga clash 15 points behind Barca, having played a game less than the Catalan club. The consensus notion is that the league's fate is already a foregone conclusion. However, the Madrid giants needed a win to keep up the momentum ahead of El Clasico in the Copa del Rey semi-finals.

Ancelotti's team will make the trip to Camp Nou next to face Barcelona in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final on April 5.

Brazilian attacker Rodrygo Goes gave Los Blancos the lead in the 22nd minute against Valladolid on Sunday. Benzema then took over the show.

The Frenchman, who won the 2022 FIFA Ballon d'Or, completed a seven-minute hat-trick. He registered his name on the scoresheet in the 29th minute. Benzema followed them up with 32nd-minute and 36th-minute strikes to complete his three-goal haul.

Benzema has now scored 22 goals in 30 appearances across competitions this season, including 14 in La Liga.

With the scoreline being 4-0 even before halftime, the game was done and dusted.

Marco Asensio scored in the 73rd minute to make the scoreline 5-0 for the hosts. Lucas Vasquez added another in injury time to make it 6-0 and add to Valladolid's misery.

Here are some of the best reactions across Twitter as Benzema starred in Real Madrid's smashing win against Real Valladolid:

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Karim Benzema's form should be a massive boost for Real Madrid ahead of the Barcelona showdown

Heading into the season, Karim Benzema was the player who Real Madrid fans relied upon to lead the team to success this season.

The prolific Frenchman, however, struggled with injuries and spent a significant amount of time on the sidelines.

Benzema looked like his familiar self against Valladolid. Not only the hat trick, but the way he scored the goals was soothing to the eyes.

With a showdown against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey looming, fans will hope that Benzema can replicate a performance of the same caliber. Real Madrid trail the tie 1-0 after losing the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The two top Spanish teams, meanwhile, have faced off four times across competitions so far this season with Xavi's team leading the duel 3-1.