Real’s vaunted BBC trio –Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema – did the bulk of the damage with their respective goals in the first half while Ángel di María and Álvaro Morata added two more in the second half to hand Real the three points which draws them level on points with co-leaders Atlético Madrid and Barcelona. The Colchoneros and the Catalonians each have a match in hand and will be in action on Sunday
For the first time this season, manager Carlo Ancelotti’s starting XI was unchanged from the previous league fixture last weekend versus Espanyol as Diego López started in goal and was protected by a back four of Dani Carvajal, Pepe, Sergio Ramos and Marcelo. Di María joined Xabi Alonso and Luka Modric in midfield while the BBC rounded out the attacking line with Benzema in the center, Ronaldo on the left and Bale on the right.
Real dominated from the start and it took just 11 minutes for them to take the lead, courtesy of a bullet from their Ballon d’Or winner. Ronaldo gathered in a ball, created enough space and let loose a rocket from 25 meters out that nearly tore a hole in Betis goalkeeper Andersen’s net in what was an unstoppable strike.
Los Blancos doubled the lead in the 25th minute with another blast from outside the area. This time it came on a free kick from Bale who curled a left-footer that left Andersen completely befuddled by its simplicity.
Real pushed the lead to 3-0 with a goal just seconds before halftime thanks to Benzema, however the genius originated from the boots of Modric. The diminutive Croatian midfielder who pounced on a loose ball and artfully eluded three Betis defenders before pushing an easy pass for Benzema to fire in. The strike from the Frenchman completely deflated any chances of a comeback from Betis.
The second half was just a matter of playing out the final 45 minutes and it would not be long before Real struck again. Di María got in on the long-range fun that the visitors were having when he rifled in a shot in the 61st minute. A Real corner kick looked to be cleared, only to see the Argentine step forward and hammer in a shot from 35 yards out to make it 4-0.
The rout was completed just a minute from time as substitute Morata scored the fifth for the visitors. Marcelo chipped in a ball to Ronaldo who -- either intentionally or not -- hit a bicycle kick which fell to Morata. The former Castilla man was left unbothered by the Betis defense who presumed Morata was in an offside position, but the flag was never raised and Morata calmly stroked home Real’s fifth to top things off.
Real will be back in action on Tuesday when they square off against Espanyol in the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals.
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