Real Madrid defeated Almeria 4-2 at the Santiago Bernabeu with a hat-trick from Karim Benzema in the first half, pulling within eight points of Barcelona at the top of LaLiga.

Madrid had the opportunity to narrow Barca’s lead, at least momentarily, before the Blaugrana play Real Betis, after Girona and Rayo Vallecano handed the top two unexpected midweek defeats.

By profiting from brilliant assists from Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo before stroking home a third from the penalty spot, Benzema made sure they took advantage of that opportunity in a decisive way.

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Almeria fought valiantly, scoring goals from Lazaro and Lucas Robertone on either side of a long-range goal from Rodrygo, but Madrid finally emerged as the winners.

Five minutes into the game, Benzema, who had been actively involved from the start and had already put Fernando Martinez to the test, opened the scoring by tapping in Vinicius’ cross after the latter sprinted down the left to cross with the outside of his boot.

His second goal, which came after 17 minutes, was greatly influenced by Rodrygo, who turned Samu Costa with a wonderful trick before setting up Benzema to score.

Largie Ramazani missed with a header as Almeria attempted to respond, but the winger was at fault when Benzema completed his hat-trick by tripping Lucas Vazquez and converting the resulting penalty.

On the cusp of halftime, Almeria scored a goal thanks to Lazaro’s tap-in of Ramazani’s low left-side cross.

However, any hopes of a comeback were dashed three minutes after the game resumed when Rodrygo found space on the edge of the area and rifled the ball into the top-right corner.

Almeria responded once more when Eduardo Camavinga’s header was judged offside. However, Madrid maintained control and came close to scoring a fifth goal when Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio hit the woodwork.