Agency :
Real Madrid went to the top of La Liga on Wednesday night on goal difference after a 3-0 win away to Cadiz.
Karim Benzema scored twice, with the first from the penalty spot, and set up Alvaro Odriozola for his side’s second of the night in a game that was over by the 40th minute.
The Real Madrid side did well to put the failed Super League in the past on a night when the players from every other club in action on Wednesday walked onto the pitch wearing shirts condemning the project.
Sevilla kept up their title challenge thanks to a 1-0 win away to Levante thanks to their third consecutive win which came thanks to a 52nd-minute goal from striker Youssef En Neysri.
The Moroccan latched onto a through ball, beat the keeper, and then sidestepped two defenders to score the only goal of a game that Sevilla controlled efficiently.
Betis moved fifth after hanging on for a 0-0 draw at home to Athletic Club Bilbao with 10 men after Nabil Fekir’s 11th minute sending off for a bad challenge on Unai Vencedor.
Athletic had all of the chances and Asier Villalibre hit the woodwork in injury time, but the game remained goalless.
Alaves took another step towards safety with a 2-1 win at home to Villarreal, which gives them seven points from a possible nine since Javier Calleja replaced Abelardo Fernandez as coach.
Joselu opened the scoring with a stooping header in the 17th minute and although Paco Alcacer scored from close range to level the scores six minutes after the break, Edgar Mendez’s 79th-minute finish from a ball from the right assured three vital points.
Elche looked to be on target for three vital points at home to Valladolid after Fidel Chaves’ 21st-minute individual goal, but after Rigoni had missed a chance to make it 2-0 when clean through on goal, Lucas Olaza’s far post header saved a point that lifts Valladolid out of the bottom three while leaving Elche second from bottom.
Meanwhile, Osasuna assured their place in the top-flight next season with a 3-1 win at home to a soulless Valencia to extend their unbeaten run to five matches.
