Three reasons why Real Madrid defeated Espanyol

#2. Clinical Benzema

Karim Benzema bagged a brace

Benzema hardly gets credit to his work as most of his work at Real Madrid has always been underappreciated. During the time when Ronaldo was around, Ronaldo grabbed all the headlines and Benzema’s efforts were not recognized by many fans.

Then came the Bale-signing which made Benzema take 3rd position in the pecking order. Having said, Benzema struggled to find his touch this season which resulted in Madrid's string of poor performances.

However, his performance on Sunday will remind the fans of his importance to this team. He provided Madrid a focal point to release balls from the pressure zones and was always available at the end of creative passes from the middle.

His hold-up play was excellent. He, in tandem with Modric and Kroos, enjoyed a great deal of possession in the danger areas. The two goals he scored were also timed properly. The first one was so fast (in the 4th minute) that it put Espanyol into shatters initially.

The second one just on the stroke of half-time(in the 45th minute) again gave Espanyol no time to react.