European roundup: Real Madrid move to within four points of title at Osasuna

Real Madrid continued their march towards a 35th La Liga title as goals from David Alaba, Marco Asensio and Lucas Vázquez earned them a 3-1 win at Osasuna on Wednesday, with Karim Benzema missing two penalties.

The victory means Real have 78 points and hold a 17-point lead at the top over their closest rivals Atlético Madrid, who were held to a goalless draw by Granada. Barcelona in third and fourth-placed Sevilla are a point further back and both play on Thursday.

Real need four more points from their remaining five games to secure the title.

Alaba opened the scoring in the 12th minute, finishing with a close-range strike following a free-kick but Osasuna equalised two minutes later as Ante Budimir scored after a counter-attack.

Asensio was in the right place at the right time to strike home a rebound from a Dani Ceballos shot inside the six-yard box.

Benzema wasted two great opportunities to extend Real’s lead, missing two penalties in less than five minutes in the second half, with both saved by the goalkeeper Sergio Herrera.

It was not until the last move of the game when Real sealed the deal with Vázquez finishing a counter attack led by the substitute Vinícius Júnior.

Atlético missed a golden opportunity in the battle for second place after they were held by lowly Granada at the Metropolitano Stadium.

Missing several starters because of injury and suspension, Atlético created few chances and rarely troubled the Granada goalkeeper Luís Maximiano. The home side came closest to breaking the deadlock in added time when the striker Matheus Cunha expertly controlled a clever pass inside the box, but his effort crashed against the left post.

In Turin, Juventus set up a Coppa Italia final showdown with Internazionale after