Los Blancos produced a convincing win against Celta Vigo as they leapfrog Barcelona to second place.
Real Madrid eased past Celta Vigo with a 3-1 win, with Karim Benzema netting a brace and setting up another.
Madrid entered the game with high spirits following their comprehensive home win over Atalanta, which saw them book their place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Benzema opened the account after a brilliant assist from Toni Kroos before the French man doubled his tally at the half-hour mark and Kroos was once again the provider.
Santi Mina pulled one back for Celta Vigo right before half time as the visitors headed the tunnel with much-needed momentum.
However, Celta Vigo failed to find the equaliser and Marcos Asensio put the game to bed with the stoppage-time goal, which was set up by Benzema.
Following the win, Zinedine Zidane’s men have jumped ahead arch-rivals Barcelona to the second place in La Liga table while also reducing the gap to three points with leaders Atletico Madrid.
Benzema has been in sublime form of late and today’s brace has taken him up to third place in the scoring charts behind Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.
Kroos the unsung hero
Although Benzema might have grabbed the spotlight for his heroics in front of goal, Los Blancos midfielder Toni Kroos ran the show in the midfield.
The German sniper, who has remained dormant throughout the season, is coming back to life with some impressive performances of late
Kroos built on the solid performance he had against Atalanta days ago and he was involved in two of Madrid’s goals today. The way he set up Benzema’s opener takes the cake as the German midfielder took on around three defenders before releasing a precise ball to the French striker.
Benzema, Luka Modric and Kroos are all peaking at the right moment for Madrid and it is good news for Zidane ahead of huge games against Liverpool and Barcelona in a few weeks time.
