European roundup: Barça put four past Betis, Benzema hits Real hat-trick

Karim Benzema scored a first-half hat-trick as Real Madrid recovered from a disappointing midweek loss at Girona by beating lowly Almería 4-2 at home in La Liga on Saturday.

Benzema opened the scoring in the fifth minute with a close range shot from a Vinícius Júnior cross and extended Real’s lead 12 minutes later after a magnificent individual play by Rodrygo. He netted his third from the penalty spot in the 42nd minute after Lucas Vázquez was fouled inside the box.

Lázaro tried to put Almería back in the game by scoring from point-blank range three minutes later but Real extended their lead right after the break after Rodrygo rifled a shot from the edge of the box into the top corner.

Real wasted several chances to extend their lead further with Rodrygo and Vinícius missing sitters from close range and Benzema and Marco Asensio hitting the post twice. A Lucas Robertone header narrowed the deficit after Toni Kroos gifted the ball to the opposition inside his own box.

Andreas Christensen, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha were on target as Barcelona thrashed 10-man Real Betis 4-0 to tighten their grip on top spot and move a step closer to a 27th La Liga title.

With only six games remaining, Barça are now on 79 points, 11 ahead of Real Madrid, while Betis remain sixth on 49 points.

Christensen opened the scoring for Barcelona in the 14th minute with a point-blank header after a cross from Raphinha. Barça’s job was made easier by the Betis defender Edgar González, who came off the bench in the 12th minute to replace the injured Luiz Felipe but was sent off 21 minutes later after receiving two yellow cards for two bad tackles.

The locals made the most of their advantage before the break, scoring twice within three minutes