Real Madrid won 2-0 and took the lead in La Liga.
Back after the injury that deprived him of the 2022 World Cup, Karim Benzema gave Real Madrid a 2-0 victory on Friday in Valladolid for the 15th day of La Liga, and temporarily lifted his club to first place ahead of FC Barcelona, who host Espanyol on Saturday (2:00 p.m.).
The Kings of Spain were late: for their great return to competition after the parenthesis of Qatar, the Merengues did not find the fault until the 83rd, on a penalty transformed from a perfect opposite foot by Benzema after a hand of Javi Sanchez in the box.
Helped by the red card addressed to Sergio Leon for his invective against the fourth referee (83rd), Benzema then doubled the bet in the 89th, on a ball perfectly served by his compatriot Eduardo Camavinga at the penalty point.
These are the Frenchman’s first goals since October 19 in Elche (3-0 success), which is also the last match that “KB9” had played in full.
Five weeks after the thigh injury which forced him to forfeit the 2022 World Cup with the France team, Benzema was finally established, after the two ends of friendly matches played in mid-December.
Now entirely devoted to Real after announcing the end of his international career the day after the final lost by the Blues in Doha, Benzema led his team to victory after missing the inevitable in the 18th, on a single strike against the cages which soared above the bar.
In addition to their captain, the Merengues can also thank their goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, author of several masterful stops (36th, 68th …) to keep Real afloat.
Under the eyes of two illustrious presidents present in the stands (Florentino Perez and Ronaldo Nazario), Real puts pressure on Barça, who will have to do the same during the Catalan derby on Saturday.
Valladolid, for its part, stalls in 15th place … and will undoubtedly have to compose without Roque Mesa, visibly injured in the hamstrings and evacuated on a stretcher at the hour of play Friday evening, before being replaced by Kike Perez .
