Karim Benzema scores twice for Zinedine Zidane's side; Barcelona goalkeeper Neto makes an embarrassing gaffe as his side are held to a 1-1 draw at Alaves; Joao Felix scores twice in Atletico Madrid win
Saturday 31 October 2020 22:24, UK
Eden Hazard scored his first goal for Real Madrid in over a year as the La Liga champions cruised to a 4-1 win over Huesca.
Making his first start of the campaign after persistent injury problems, Hazard broke the deadlock in the 40th minute with a thunderous strike from outside the area.
It was only his second goal for Madrid since his 2019 move from Chelsea and his first in 392 days.
The Belgium forward, who played his first minutes since July on Tuesday as a late substitute in a 2-2 draw at Borussia Monchengladbach in the Champions League, vindicated his start with a fine swivel and strike to set Madrid on their way to ending a two-game home losing streak.
Zinedine Zidane's side soon extended their lead in added time of the first half when Karim Benzema chested down a cross from Lucas Vazquez and fired inside the far post.
Federico Valverde further stretched their lead in the 54th minute before David Ferreiro pulled a goal back (74) for Huesca.
Benzema rounded off a classy overall display by heading home from close range in added time.
The midweek game in Germany had provided some unwanted scrutiny on the relationship between Benzema and strike partner Vinicius Jr after the Frenchman was heard bad-mouthing the Brazilian to team-mate Ferland Mendy in the tunnel at half-time.
Vinicius replaced Hazard on the hour mark and almost assisted Benzema when he raced down the left wing and laid the ball off, only for the striker to send a scuffed shot bouncing over the bar.
Real Madrid move back above Real Sociedad at the summit, while Huesca remain winless since their promotion to the top flight.
Barcelona goalkeeper Neto made an embarrassing gaffe as his side were held to a 1-1 draw away to Alaves on Saturday, despite playing the final half an hour with an extra man.
Barca fell behind in the 31st minute after a moment of madness from Brazilian keeper Neto, who clumsily allowed a back pass from Gerard Pique to trickle through his legs towards goal, and Luis Rioja nipped in to nudge the ball into the empty net.
Alaves midfielder Jota was sent off in the 62nd minute for a second booking and Antoine Griezmann levelled moments later, and though Barca kept on pouring forward they failed to take their flurry of late chances.
Barca, who were beaten 3-1 by Real Madrid last week, have taken only two points from their last four league games and sit 12th in the standings with eight points from six matches.
Atletico Madrid's Joao Felix scored two goals and was in the thick of the action as his side beat Osasuna 3-1 away on Saturday for a third consecutive La Liga victory.
The Portugal striker missed an open goal in the early stages of the game before giving his side the lead at the end of the first half from the penalty spot, but then squandered a spot-kick at the start of the second period, hitting the post.
Felix soon made amends by getting Atleti's second, blasting into the top corner to complete a sensational counter-attack and score for the fourth time in two games after his double in Tuesday's 3-2 Champions League win over RB Salzburg.
Osasuna did manage to strike back with a header from substitute Ante Budimir with 10 minutes to go but Atletico soaked up the pressure well and clinched the points with a late strike from Lucas Torreira, who superbly controlled a cross from Kieran Trippier on his thigh before smashing into the roof of the net.
Paris St Germain cruised to a 3-0 win at Nantes on Saturday to move three points clear on top of Ligue 1, with Ander Herrera, Kylian Mbappe and Pablo Sarabia all scoring second-half goals.
The win puts PSG on 21 points after nine games, three ahead of second-placed Lille who host Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday. Nantes remain in 15th spot on eight points.
