This archive report was first published on 7 December 2019.
On a day when Real Madrid wore an all-green kit to show support for the Climate Summit in Madrid, Karim Benzema stepped up to lead his team to a 2-0 win over Espanyol in La Liga on Saturday, December 7, 2019.
Benzema scored one goal and set up another in the victory at the Santiago Bernabeu, moving Zinedine Zidane's side to the top of the table, at least for a few hours, before Barcelona play later on Saturday at home to Real Mallorca.
Despite the absence of Eden Hazard and Gareth Bale, who are both nursing injuries, Benzema's excellent display will be a welcome consolation for the team ahead of their crunch game against Barcelona on December 18.
With Benzema's 15th goal of the season, Real Madrid sealed the win, and the French striker also set up Raphael Varane for the first goal in the 37th minute.
Increasingly, it seems that the winner of the Clasico will spend the Christmas break first in the table, with the top two teams pulling away from the likes of Atletico Madrid, who drew again away at Villarreal on Friday night.
Sevilla, in third, are four points behind Real Madrid before they travel to Osasuna on Sunday.
