Karim Benzema bags a brace after Gareth Bale's opener to put Los Blancos top of La Liga with 100 per cent record
Perhaps Cristiano Ronaldo was holding him back! Karim Benzema scored his fourth goal of the season as Real Madrid put four past Leganes to stay top of La Liga.
Gareth Bale got his third of the campaign making it seven straight league games scoring and ten goals in his last ten matches for Real Madrid. He has carried on his fine form from the end of last season. Benzema has found a new lease of life.
The player who laid on so many of Ronaldo’s goals is now scoring them for himself and Madrid are La Liga’s top scorers with 10 goals in three games, all before Ronaldo gets off the mark for new club Juventus.
Bale had the Santiago Bernabeu singing his name as early as the 17th minute when he broke the deadlock.
Sergio Ramos picked out Dani Carvajal at the back post and the right-back headed the ball across the face of the goal. It bounced once in front of Bale and he hooked it right-footed into the roof of the net.
The good early work was undone when Leganes scored as a result of their first attack. Javier Eraso went down under a clumsy knee-first challenge from Casemiro and Thibaut Courtois’s first involvement in the Madrid goal was to pick Guido Carrillo’s penalty out of the back of his net.
Courtois had applauded as Keylor Navas showed off his trophy for best keeper from last season’s Champions League. But it was Courtois took his place in goal.
Southampton striker Carrillo is on loan with Mauricio Pellegrino the man who signed him for £19m in January just two months before he was sacked.
He failed to scored in 10 games at Southampton but now he had managed it at the Bernabeu against Courtois on his long-awaited debut sending the former Chelsea keeper the wrong way.
Madrid were back in front four minutes into the second half but the referee, Jaime Latre, need a nudge in the ribs from VAR to give the goal. Marcelo crossed from the left and Benzema held off Leganes defender Jonathan Silva to nod past Ivan Cuellar.
It looked as if the referee’s assistant had indicated a foul from Benzema on Silva. The referee ruled the goal out but was told to consult the monitor at the side of the pitch. Latre trotted to the touchline to become the first official to use VAR at the Bernabeu giving the goal to the home side.
Madrid were well on top now and Toni Kroos shaved a post with a volley. Bale continued to threaten and Benzema soon had the third.
Marcelo ran to the edge of the Leganes penalty area and played in Benzema. He wriggled away from two Leganes defenders playing a one-two with Luka Modric.
Benzema was arguably in a worse position when he received the ball back from Modric than when he had given it to him but he drilled a low cross-shot into the far corner to extend the home team’s lead.
Real Madrid brought Isco on the hour for Modric to give Leganes something else to worry about. And the fourth soon came with Ramos burying his penalty.
Marco Asensio was upended by Unai Bustinza and the defender and captain stepped up to score from the post on 66 minutes. Madrid looked like scoring every time they went forward and Leganes were already thinking about the very short journey home.
Bale went off with six minutes left. His start has been sublime. Benzema has matched him stride for stride and Madrid are on top of the league with goals post-Ronaldo not a problem so far.