Real Madrid sans Benzema beat Sevilla 3-1 to extend lead

MADRID:  Karim Benzema proudly showed his Ballon d’Or award to fans at the Santiago Bernabeu and then sat back as Real Madrid beat Sevilla 3-1 and increased their lead in the Spanish league on Saturday.

Benzema was ruled out of the match when the club said he had muscle fatigue. It appears that the striker, who won soccer’s prestigious individual prize on Monday, is being extra cautious to avoid the risk of any injury that might jeopardize his participation with France at the World Cup in Qatar starting in less than a month.

Vinicius Junior set up two goals for Madrid as the Brazil winger continues to excel both with, and without, Benzema playing by his side.

Madrid extended their unbeaten streak to 16 games since starting the season across all competitions and increased their lead at the top to six points over Barcelona, who play Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

Luka Modric and former Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane, both former Ballon d’Or winners, handed Benzema his award in a ceremony before kickoff. The Madrid striker hoisted it high to receive the applause of fans, who turned out for the celebration and the match amid steady rain in Spain’s capital.

Modric then proceeded to ensure that Madrid did not miss Benzema’s goals, scoring from an assist by Vinicius to give Madrid the lead five minutes into the game. Vinicius pounced on a poor pass by Gonzalo Montiel near Sevilla’s own area, took on the backtracking defenders, and found Modric all alone at the far post to tap in.

While Vinicius squandered an opportunity to add to the lead in the 44th — when he tried to round goalkeeper Yassine Bounou instead of shooting from point-blank range — Sevilla were toothless with midfielder Isco Alarcón up front as a “false nine.”

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