Real Madrid rout Barcelona 3-1 with goals from Benzema, Valverde, Rodrygo

Real Madrid managed to defeat Barcelona in the two Spanish giants’ first La Liga encounter of the season. Goals from Karim Benzema, Fede Valverde, and Rodrygo helped Los Blancos clinch victory. Barcelona did create some chances, and were only able to breach the Real Madrid defense on one occasion. The final scoreline of the match read 3-1.

The first goal of the fixture came from Karim Benzema, the Frenchman who is the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or this year. Benzema’s goal came in the first half during an attack by Toni Kroos and Vinicius Jr. The Brazilian’s shot was blocked by ter Stegn, but escaped from the latter grasp. Benzema was at the right place at the right time to tap it in.

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Youngster Federico Valverde scored the next goal for the defending European champions. It was again an attack led by Vinicius Jr. that led to this goal. 

Barcelona’s goal came in the 83rd minute when Ansu Fati ran down the left side of the pitch to square the ball to Robert Lewandowski. Being out of space himself, the Polish striker passed the ball to Torres, who finally netted one in for the Catalan side.

The possibility of the Blaugrana scripting a historic comeback was short-lived, as Eric Garcia caught Rodrygo with a trailing leg inside the Barca box, which led to the referee consulting VAR and calling for a penalty in Real Madrid’s favour. Rodrygo took the spot kick and gracefully scored passed ter Stegn.

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The two teams were both on 22 points in as they headed into El Clasico. However, now with a win over their eternal rivals, the Carlo Ancelotti-managed side are the table toppers. 

Although a resurgent Barcelona under Xavi were playing impressive football since the season began, they have of late struggled to find success. They are on the verge of being relegated to the Europa League after the 3-3 draw with Inter Milan in the Champions League group stage match.