Real Madrid move level with Atletico at La Liga summit
Karim Benzema scored the opening goal and created two others as Real Madrid won 3-1 at Eibar on Sunday to move level on points with city rivals Atletico near the top of La Liga.
Benzema and Luka Modric scored inside first 13 minutes in the Basque Country to place Zinedine Zidane's men on the way to a fourth straight league win, with Lucas Vazquez scoring a late third after Garcia Kike pulled one back for Eibar.
Real sit behind Atletico on goal difference, but have the better head-to-head record, which is how level teams are split towards the end of the season.
Diego Simeone's Atletico have two games at hand, though, after Saturday's 3-1 success against Elche.
Fifth-placed Barcelona are eight points adrift of the Madrid pair following their 2-2 draw this weekend with Valencia.
Eibar started brightly, but fell behind in the sixth minute as Rodrygo fed Benzema to slot in his seventh league goal of the growing season.
Benzema, who was simply hailed by compatriot Zidane as the best ever French centre-forward earlier this week, created the next goal seven minutes later, cutting inside and selecting Modric who fired home right-footed.
The striker must have doubled his tally in the 16th minute, but he headed Modric's cross at night post.
Real went near a third goal again when home goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic kept out Rodrygo's close-range effort, but Eibar got themselves back to the match in spectacular style prior to the half-hour mark.
Kike collected the ball outside the area before curling an excellent finish past Thibaut Courtois.
Benzema thought he previously restored the visitors' two-goal lead before half-time, but was flagged for a marginal offside, with VAR upholding the linesman's decision.
Eibar, sitting 14th in the table, wasted an excellent chance to equalise 11 minutes following the break, as Takashi Inui shot wide following a rare mistake from Real captain Sergio Ramos.
The reigning champions struggled to put the overall game to bed in the second half, with Marco Asensio striking a free-kick narrowly off target soon after coming on as an alternative.
The administrative centre giants survived a late scare when VAR decided not to award Eibar a penalty after the ball struck Ramos's arm.
Vazquez wrapped up the points in injury time with a cool finish from a tight angle, having been played in by Benzema.
Earlier on Sunday, former Spain international Roberto Soldado scored doubly Granada moved into sixth with a 2-0 make an impression on Real Betis, while Getafe beat Cadiz 2-0 and Celta Vigo managed to get four straight victories by seeing off Alaves by the same scoreline.
