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LA LIGA: ASENSIO BAGS HATRICK AS REAL MADRID HIT MALLORCA 6-1 TO GO TOP

Marco Asensio scored his first hat-trick for Real Madrid on Wednesday against Mallorca, his boyhood club, as Madrid cruised to a 6-1 win to go top of La Liga. Karim Benzema capitalised on an early Mallorca mistake at the Santiago Bernabeu before three goals in five minutes put Madrid 3-1 ahead, two Asensio strikes coming either side of a curling effort from Mallorca’s Lee Kang-in.

Asensio completed his treble with a bending shot of his own in the second half and went off to a standing ovation, leaving Benzema to add his second and Isco to tap in Madrid’s sixth late on. Benzema’s second goal was his 200th in La Liga, making him only the 10th player to reach the milestone.

“Clearly Karim is playing very well,” said Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti. “Not just himself but for the team. He is a complete striker.”

Victory lifts Real Madrid two points clear of Atletico at the top of La Liga, with Sevilla up to third after they had earlier eased past Valencia 3-1.

Asensio was born in Palma and began playing for Mallorca aged 10, only to join Real Madrid in 2016.

He declined to celebrate any of his three goals but will have made an impression on Ancelotti, who was giving the 25-year-old his first start of the season.

“Asensio did very well. It is true that from that position he can hurt the opponent, between the lines he has a lot of quality,” Ancelotti said.

Benzema now has eight goals this term and there were noteworthy displays too from Eduardo Camavinga, the hugely exciting 18-year-old midfielder, as well as Madrid’s two central defenders, David Alaba and Eder Militao, whose distribution was instrumental in almost all the goals.

Despite scoring two late goals to beat Valencia on Sunday, Ancelotti criticised his team for again being too open at the back. Mallorca had chances but they were blown away by Madrid’s revitalised attack.

The first goal, though, was a gift, as Josep Gaya failed to control a routine pass across the defence and then slipped trying to recover, allowing Benzema to race clear and finish.

Militao instigated the second with a driven pass out to Vinicius, whose angled pass sent Rodrygo in behind. His deflected cross was prodded out by Mallorca goalkeeper Manolo Reina, for Asensio to finish.

Lee hit back almost immediately, weaving past Militao and Alaba and curving a shot into the bottom corner. But hope of a comeback was brief, as Asensio scored his second, latching onto a slick Benzema touch before sliding home.

Another neat lay-off from Benzema and Asensio completed his hat-trick just before the hour and there was still time for two more, Benzema controlling Alaba’s ball over the top with his back and finishing before Vinicius gave Isco an open net to tap into.

Sevilla had earlier scored three goals in the first 22 minutes against Valencia to win 3-1 and go third.

Alejandro Gomez put Sevilla in front in the third minute at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan before Gonzalo Montiel and Rafa Mir made it three within the first half an hour.

Valencia gave themselves hope when Hugo Duro pulled one back in the 31st minute but Sevilla held their nerve in the second period to record their third win of the season.

Julen Lopetegui’s side are still unbeaten but Valencia’s strong start under new coach Jose Bordalas has been dented in the last few days.

This latest loss comes after they conceded two late goals to lose to Real Madrid on Sunday, with Bordalas’ team dropping to fourth.

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Alvaro Morata double leads Atletico Madrid over Mallorca in Liga

Atletico is one of the hottest teams as La Liga ticks down before it shifts focus to the Ch

Alvaro Morata scored twice to lead Atletico Madrid to a 3-0 win over Mallorca and extend its strong finish to the Spanish league.

Diego Simeone’s team has long been out of the title race being disputed by leader Real Madrid and second-placed Barcelona, which they trail by eight points.

But Atletico is one of the hottest teams as La Liga ticks down before it shifts focus to the Champions League final eight to be played in Portugal next month.

Champions League final eight to be played in Portugal next month.

In March when the league was halted, Atletico was struggling to secure a Champions League berth for next season. It is now well on course to finishing third.

Atletico has remained undefeated in seven matches since the Spanish league resumed following a three-month stoppage for the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We were in a complicated situation before the stoppage, but we have been playing well since we got back to playing and have been playing with a great attitude,” Morata said.

Simeone’s side dominated the relegation-threatened Mallorca from kickoff.

Morata earned a penalty when he was pulled down by Aleksandar Sedlar in the area.

Goalkeeper Manuel Reina blocked his strike, but a video review helped the referee order a redo of the spot kick after Sedlar entered the area too early.

Morata stepped back up and on a second try rifled the ball into the top corner in the 29th minute.

“Missing and then getting back up and trying again is part of football,” Morata said about the penalty.

The former Chelsea and Real Madrid striker was back on the scoreboard in first-half injury time when Jorge “Koke” stole the ball and played Marcos Llorente clear to reach the end line, where he found Morata at the far post to tap home.

The goals were Morata’s 10th and 11th of the season in league play.

Mallorca could not muster a comeback and Renan Lodi hit the crossbar for Atletico before Koke scored in the 79th. His shot deflected off a defender to give Reina no chance to save.

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Lionel Messi leads Barcelona to flying return against Mallorca

The win takes Barcelona on to 61 points after 28 games, five clear of nearest challengers Real Madrid, who host Eibar on Sunday in their first game back.

Lionel Messi scored and grabbed two assists as La Liga leaders Barcelona eased to a 4-0 win away to struggling Real Mallorca on Saturday, making the perfect return to action after Spanish football’s three-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The champions got off to a flying start when Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal scored with a diving header in the second minute, while Danish international Martin Braithwaite scored his first goal for Barca later in the first half.

Jordi Alba then added a third goal for Barcelona in the 79th minute after latching on to a through ball from Messi, who had also set up Braithwaite’s goal with a header.

The Argentine then completed the scoring with a deflected strike in stoppage time, netting 20 league goals for the 12th season in a row.

The win takes Barcelona on to 61 points after 28 games, five clear of nearest challengers Real Madrid, who host Eibar on Sunday in their first game back.

“We controlled the game and it was a great performance after not competing for three months,” goalscorer Alba said.

“We now have 10 must-win games to go and we are really looking forward to them.”

The game was played behind closed doors to prevent further spread of the novel coronavirus, but a fan wearing an Argentina shirt somehow made it on to the pitch, only to be swiftly taken away by security guards.

Luis Suarez made his first appearance since injuring his knee six months ago, coming off the bench in the second half, while his fellow Uruguayan Ronald Araujo hit the post shortly before Alba struck.

Mallorca occupy the final relegation spot in La Liga but despite the heavy loss they gave a decent account of themselves, with 19-year-old Japanese playmaker Takefusa Kubo pulling the strings.

Kubo tested Barcelona keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen in the first half while Ante Budimir, Lago Junior and Abdon Prats all flashed shots just wide of the target after the interval.