 "Real Madrid")
Marco Asensio scored a hat-trick and Karim Benzema struck a brace of goals as Real Madrid soared on their goal-scoring prowess to thrash Mallorca 6-1 and rose to the top of the table in the Spanish La Liga.
Asensio scored in the 24th, 29th, and 55th minute while Benzema struck in the third and 78th minute as Real Madrid produced another goal-fest for the Santiago Bernabeu faithful. Isco scored the sixth goal in the 82nd minute while Lee Kang-In got the lone goal for Mallorca in the 25th minute.
The game was a lively affair and was played at a high intensity throughout. The Real got off to an electrifying start when Benzema latched onto a missed controlled ball by Gaya and fired it past goalkeeper Manolo Reina to net his seventh goal of the league campaign after with just three minutes on the clock. In the 7th minute, the hosts almost doubled their lead when Marco Asensio's in-swinging corner kick was cleared off the line by the defence.
The visiting goalkeeper Reina was once again beaten in the 229th minute. Rodrygo picked up the ball inside the box with his back to goal, turned, and crossed. The ball deflected off both Valjant and Reina falling kindly for Asensio who slammed in the rebound for his first goal of the evening.
Mallorca's response was immediate, as Lee Kang-In produced a fine piece of individual skills before curling the ball superbly past Thibaut Courtois.
Real took control after Mallorca reduced the margin. The game was an end-to-end affair, Benzema linked up with Asensio after 29 minutes, his superb control and finish saw him dispatch the ball expertly past Reina. The Balearic midfielder doubled his tally and could have made it three seven minutes later. Vinicius Jr. delivered to the far post, Benzema got on the end of it and headed towards the penalty spot where Valjant was on hand to clear Asensio's effort off the line as the team went for half-time with Real leading 3-1.
The intensity did not let up after the break and Real Madrid came close to the fourth goal on two separate occasions. Firstly, Benzema played the ball into the path of Vinicius Jr but his spectacular left-footed cut-back to his marker in the 48th minute was kept out by Reina. Rodrygo then picked up the ball in his own half, raced past Battaglia, and delivered a perfect ball for Benzema to head home. However, the goal was ruled out by the referee after he spotted a foul by the striker.
Real could not be denied for long and the Los Blancos' fourth goal came in the 55th minute courtesy of a superb effort by Asensio, who received the ball on the edge of the area before firing in a left-footed shot that Reina could do nothing about.
The multiple-time former champions got their fifth goal in the 78th minute as Benzema brought down a long ball from David Alaba with his back and finished with a shot across the face of the goal. It was the eighth goal in the competition for the Frenchman, putting him ahead of the rest as the top scorer.
But Real Madrid were not done yet as in the 84th minute, Isco added the finishing touches after a pass from Vinicius Jr to make it 6-1 for the Los Blancos.
It was Real Madrid's fifth win in six matches played so far. They are unbeaten so far with five wins and one draw and have 16 points from six matches, two ahead of cross-town rivals Atletico Madrid.
--IANS
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