Real Madrid v Almería Live Commentary & Result, 29/04/2023, Primera División

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	PTS	Form
1	BAR Barcelona	37	28	4	5	69	18	+51	88	W L L W W
2	RMA Real Madrid	37	24	5	8	74	35	+39	77	W W L W L
3	ATM Atlético Madrid	37	23	7	7	68	31	+37	76	W D W L W
4	RSO Real Sociedad	37	20	8	9	49	34	+15	68	L W W D W
5	VIL Villarreal	37	19	6	12	57	38	+19	63	L W W W D
6	BET Real Betis	37	17	8	12	45	40	+5	59	W L D W W
7	OSA Osasuna	37	14	8	15	35	41	-6	50	L W L W L
8	ATH Athletic Club	37	14	8	15	46	42	+4	50	L L W L L
9	GIR Girona	37	13	10	14	57	53	+4	49	L D L D W
10	RAY Rayo Vallecano	37	13	10	14	45	50	-5	49	W L L L W
11	SEV Sevilla	37	13	10	14	46	52	-6	49	L D D W W
12	MLL Mallorca	37	13	8	16	34	43	-9	47	L W L W L
13	CAD Cádiz	37	10	11	16	29	52	-23	41	W L W L L
14	GET Getafe	37	10	11	16	34	45	-11	41	W W D L W
15	VAL Valencia	37	11	8	18	41	44	-3	41	D L W W D
16	ALM Almería	37	11	7	19	46	62	-16	40	D L W L W
17	CEL Celta de Vigo	37	10	10	17	41	52	-11	40	L D L L L
18	VLD Real Valladolid	37	11	6	20	33	63	-30	39	D W L L L
19	ESP Espanyol	37	8	12	17	49	66	-17	36	D D W L L
20	ELC Elche	37	5	9	23	29	66	-37	24	W D D W L

That's all from us, we hope you enjoyed the game. Until the next one, goodbye!

Three vital points sees Real Madrid close the gap on Clasico rivals Barcelona to eight points at the top of the table. Barca are yet to play in this matchweek and could restore an 11-point margin, but with games running out fast, Madrid have done all they can in this game to keep themselves within touching distance. For Almeria, defeat doesn't do them any favours, and they're still above the bottom three by just two points, with all but one of the sides below them having a game in hand. It's going to be a close-run fight to the final whistle, but the attitude they showed to get back into this game, particularly through Robertone's goal, suggested they've certainly got it within them to stay up this season.

If the first half belonged to Benzema, the second was certainly Rodrygo's, emphasised none more so by his thumping finish just 119 seconds into it. The Brazil winger managed three shots, an assist, and seven duels in total, winning three of his five respective dribbles. He also won possession twice, once in the final third, helping to set up many a chance as a dominant Merengues side stormed to victory.

There goes the full-time whistle, and just as they did in the first period, Real Madrid dominate the second to claim all three points at the Bernabeu. Potentially spooked by Lazaro's late goal in first-half stoppage time, Rodrygo's thunderbolt with the second just two minutes old restored the natural order of the game, regaining Real's three-goal lead to put them 4-1 up. Almeria kept plugging away though and bagged another consolation through Robertone's smart close-range header, but a copious number of late chances, all denied by Martinez, his crossbar and both posts, showed just how much Los Blancos were a class above in this game. A much-needed win for Madrid, who keep their slim title hopes alive with six league games left to play.

90' + 4' FULL-TIME: REAL MADRID 4-2 ALMERIA.

90' + 4' OVER!!! Asensio is again given space, and once more tries a shot from the edge of the box. It's a curling effort that appears headed for the top corner, but the ball clips the top of the bar on its way over!

90' + 3' Camavinga has drifted over to the right and finds his fellow full-back Carvajal with an inside pass. Carvajal tries to put in a cut-back of his own, but the ball deflects behind for a corner off Centelles.

90' + 1' We're into four additional minutes as Madrid look to add further goals to the four they've already managed, with Almeria firmly in damage-limitation mode as the clock ticks down.

90' OFF THE UPRIGHT!!! Benzema races forward and finds Asensio to his right with the goal at his mercy. The substitute shoots early and beats Martinez, but the ball smashes the base of the near post and goes behind for a goal kick!

89' BALL IN THE NET!!! Real are denied once more by the offside flag!!! Vazquez and Camavinga play a series of one-two's down the left, culminating in Vazquez's clipped cross being headed in at the near post by the Frenchman! Camavinga's last pass found the Spaniard in an offside position though, meaning for the third time in this game, Real are denied another goal to extend their lead.

87' OFF THE POST!! Brilliant one-touch play from Real sees Tchouameni, Asensio and Camavinga all combine to set up Benzema, whose drilled effort across the face rattles the far post before being cleared away!

86' SAVED!! Benzema's deft back-heel tees up Ceballos from the edge of the box, but his low shot towards the far corner is an easy one for Martinez to save and hold!

85' Carvajal races onto a long pass and cuts the ball back to Benzema, whose first-time shot is blocked by Ely before Eguaras clears for Almeria!

84' Speaking of substitutes, in the last matchday against Getafe, Luis Suarez became the first Almeria player to score a brace in La Liga since Thomas Partey against Granada back in April 2015. Suarez has lost all four of his games in the competition against Real Madrid, but has previously found the net against them, for Granada in November 2021.

Dani Carvajal

Vinícius Júnior

82' Vinicius comes off following that VAR decision, and is replaced by right-back Dani Carvajal, in a switch that will most likely see Vazquez push forward into the front three.

81' NO PENALTY!! The decision has been reversed! There is indeed a push - albeit far from the biggest you've ever seen - from Benzema on Ely, and as that foul preceded Martinez's on the Real Madrid striker, the free-kick goes Almeria's way and Benzema will have to wait a little bit longer to potentially find his fourth goal of the game!

80' Hold on a minute - VAR is on the scene! They're having another look at how Ely went down, seeing if a possible push from Benzema could have caused him to slip and fall.

79' IT'S ANOTHER PENALTY!!! Camavinga's lofted pass from deep puts Ely in all sorts of trouble, and he slips over with Benzema breathing down his neck. Martinez races out to smother the ball, but can't get there first and clips Benzema as he runs through! It's a stone-waller if ever there was one, and you'd imagine Benzema will step up once again looking for his fourth of the match.

78' SAVED!!! Asensio spots a sight of goal and pulls the trigger from distance, with his dipping, swerving shot being parried and dived on by Martinez before anyone in white can get to the rebound!

76' Vinicius sprints his way around the outside of Mendes for the umpteenth occasion in this game, but is off-balance as he crosses and sends the ball straight into the side netting.

Álex Centelles

Samú Costa

75' Alejandro Centelles also comes on, and will see out the game in place of Costa in midfield.

Melero

Sergio Akieme

75' Almeria make further changes as they push to make the game even tighter, bringing off Akieme for Gonzalo Melero inside the last 15 minutes.

E. Camavinga

Yellow Card

74' Robertone does well to win possession from Vinicius' mazy dribble, but is clipped late as he clears the ball by Camavinga, who goes into the book as a result.

Marco Asensio

Rodrygo

72' Rodrygo has been excellent down the right for Real and bagged their most recent goal, with a like-for-like replacement coming on in the form of Marco Asensio.

Nacho

T. Kroos

72' Kroos comes off in the first of Los Blancos' changes, and Nacho is on in his place, likely to slot into the base of Madrid's midfield.

70' Benzema brings down a cross-field ball from the right, and steps inside before shooting, but his low effort is weak by his standards and Martinez can easily collect.

69' Benzema attempts to volley Ceballos' chipped pass goalwards from a tight angle, but mis-kicks his shot and is brought to a halt by the raising of the offside flag.

H. Mendes

Yellow Card

67' Mendes is determined not to be beaten again by Vinicius and barges him off the ball. A bit too aggresively for the referee's liking though, as he's shown a yellow card.

Lázaro

Yellow Card

66' Lazaro arrives late to tackle Vazquez and stands on the full-back's boot, warranting a free-kick for Madrid and a yellow card for the Brazilian.

65' WIDE!!! Should be 5-2! Benzema receives a pass from Kroos on the turn and slips an incisive ball through to Rodrygo, who attempts to chip the advancing Martinez but puts his effort wide of the post!

L. Suárez

L. Ramazani

64' Ramazani set up Almeria's first goal at the end of the first half, and has been a threat whenever his side have had the possession in the final third. Hre's off now though, and Luis Suarez, who netted twice in the capital against Getafe last time out, is on.

63' BALL IN THE NET!!! Madrid score, but the flag denies Rodrygo his second goal! It's a really well-worked move by Los Blancos as Rodrygo drifts inside and passes to Benzema in the box. He switches play right to Vazquez, whose cross is nodded in at the far post by Rodrygo, but the linesman's flag is up to disappoint the Brazilian as he wheels away in celebration!

Portillo

Assist

61' A brilliant first-time cross from Portillo, and for a midfielder on the smaller side like Robertone, what a glancing header that was!

L. Robertone

Goal

61' GOOOOAAALL!!! An instant impact from Robertone, and don't count Almeria out just yet! Kroos massive undersells Rudiger with a poor pass inside his own box. The centre-back is dispossessed and the ball comes back to Portillo, whose near-post cross is headed in brilliantly by Robertone! Lackadaisical from Real Madrid, and clinical from Almeria, who close the gap to 4-2 and set up a tense final half hour at the Bernabeu!

60' Robertone picks up the ball in space and tries his luck from distance, but can only send a looping effort several yards over the crossbar!

58' Vinicius burns past Chumi down the left and flashes the ball across the face, but no-one can get there and Benzema chases the ball wide. He back-heels for Vazquez to cross, but his ball evades Vinicius and it's cleared by Chumi!

L. Robertone

César de la Hoz

57' Rojiblancos captain De la Hoz also comes off, with Lucas Robertone entering the fray for the visitors.

Íñigo Eguaras

Arnau Puigmal

57' Almeria make their first changes with both coming in midfield, as Puigmal comes off for the introduction of Inigo Eguaras.

56' Benzema's delightful throughball for Camavinga is put behind for a corner by Chumi, and the following corner deflects out to Ceballos. He goes for the spectacular on the edge of the box, but his volley is ballooned well over the bar and looks more likely to find the stadium's roof than the back of the net!

55' Real Madrid are unbeaten in a whopping 61 league matches when leading at half-time - winning 57 of these and dating back to February 2019 against Girona.

53' Ceballos does well to win Madrid's first corner of the second half, but Kroos' delivery is met by a strong header away from Almeria centre-back Ely.

51' A clipped pass forward to Lazaro is back-heeled into Ramazani's path by the Almeria goalscorer, but the Belgian's first-time finish is skewed well wide and doesn't trouble Courtois whatsoever.

50' Tchouameni trips Costa right on the edge of Madrid's box, but the Almeria midfielder's free-kick is struck straight into the white wall of the hosts.

48' Almeria have now conceded 10 goals in the first 15 minutes of second halves this season, with no team doing so more often in La Liga.

Dani Ceballos

Assist

47' Ceballos' pass was met by Rodrygo with his back to goal, and the visitors' defence stood off the Brazilian for just long enough for him to get a shot away - and boy, did he get it away alright!

Rodrygo

Goal

47' GOOOOOOAAAALLL!!! What a way to kick off the second half!!! Almeria lose possession far too easily in their own third of the pitch, and Camavinga finds Ceballos. He passes to Rodrygo on the edge of the box, who turns away from Akieme, stops, and rifles a thunderous finish into right the top corner of Martinez's goal! It's 4-1 to the hosts, and the power of that shot nearly took the net off as Real Madrid restore their three-goal lead!

47' Militao looks to pick out Rodrygo racing through the centre with a long ball, but overhits his pass and the ball goes behind for a goal kick.

46' No changes for either side at the break, as Lazaro resumes proceedings for Almeria at the Bernabeu.

We're back and ready for the second half, and has Lazaro's goal right at the end of the first sparked some much-needed life into this Almeria side?

A perfect first-half for Benzema, who has bagged a hat-trick inside 42 minutes and collated 1.8xG already, with all four of his attempts being on target. The Frenchman has had seven touches in the box and completed all of his final-third passes, though has only engaged in one duel, leaving much of the dribbling work to Rodrygo and Vinicius either side of him. The Real Madrid captain won't be resting on his laurels though, and with Los Blancos' entire outfit looking capable of creating big chances, don't bet against him adding another goal or two in the second half.

At the halfway stage, Real Madrid have a healthy lead, but that late Lazaro goal gives Almeria the slender possibility of throwing a spanner in the works forn Los Blancos. Much of the first half was as one-sided as one-sided gets, with Madrid maintaining almost 70 per cent possession and leading 3-0 thanks to a hat-trick from talisman Benzema. His first two were typically clinical finishes set up by Vinicius and Rodrygo respectively, before converting a penalty after Ramazani fouled Vazquez. The Almeria winger soon made amends though, teeing up Lazaro in added time to close the gap to 3-1 and giving the second half much more jeopardy than first anticipated.

45' + 2' HALF-TIME: REAL MADRID 3-1 ALMERIA.

L. Ramazani

Assist

45' + 1' Ramazani's low cross took every Madrid player out of the question, leaving Courtois scrambling and Lazaro unmarked to slot home from close range!

Lázaro

Goal

45' + 1' GOOOOAAALLL!!! Almeria rip up the script as they pull a goal back! A cross from the right is brought back into the danger area by Akieme, who finds Ramazani in the box. He drills the ball across the face of goal, where Lazaro arrives to tap home at the far post! Almeria reduce the deficit to 3-1, and that'll do their confidence a world of good in the second half!

45' We'll play just the one minute of added time as Real Madrid look set to enter the break well on top.

44' That's Benzema's second hat-trick of the league season, his 17th goal, and his seventh in nine games against Almeria. He's in top form as ever, and the Madrid machine is purring nicely as we head towards half-time.

K. Benzema

Penalty Goal

42' GOOOOAAALL!!! First. Half. Hat-trick!! Benzema steps up as coolly as ever and without fuss slots the ball into the bottom-right corner, sending Martinez the wrong way and putting Real Madrid 3-0 up in the process. He's got three, Madrid have three, and barring a near-miraculous Almeria comeback in the second half, the three points will also be Los Blancos' come full-time.

41' PENALTY!!! Vinicius' cross from the left misses all but is recovered by Vazquez, who plays off Benzema to burst into the box. Ramazani tracks back though and forces the full-back to cut back inside, but trips Vazquez just inside the area and gives the referee no choice but to point to the penalty spot!

39' CHANCE!!! Portillo clips a lofted pass into the box for Lazaro to attack, but the Brazilian's glancing header doesn't generate enough power to beat Courtois, who catches the looping ball with ease!

38' WIDE!! An over-ambitious ball out of defence from Vazquez is cut out by Portillo, who plays a one-two with Akieme before drilling a low shot just a yard wide of the left-hand post!

Vinícius Júnior

Yellow Card

37' Vinicius is held back by Mendes and wins a free-kick, but his furious demanding of a booking for the Almeria full-back goes a touch too far, and the referee instead shows him one for dissent!

35' Benzema has now been involved in 12 goals in nine top-flight matches against Almeria, with six goals and assists apiece having providing at least one assist (and five in total) in his last three games against them in the competition.

33' Vinicius attempts to beat Chumi in the way he's been breezing past Mendes for the first half hour, but the Almeria centre-back stands tall and gets a well-timed foot in to win possession back cleanly before clearing!

31' From Vazquez's deep cross, Rudiger heads the ball across the face of goal, but it's skewed wide by Benzema as the offside flag is raised against him.

30' Moments after being denied what appeared to be a relatively textbook free-kick in the corner, Vazquez crosses from the same position, but Ely's header sends the ball behind for a corner before Benzema can connect with it.

28' Vinicius burns past Mendes once again but slips as he passes inside, with Kroos and Ceballos recovering the ball. The latter spreads it wide to Vazquez, whose low cross into the area is put behind for a corner via Ramazani's block.

26' WIDE!!! Almeria's first real chance is too close for comfort! Portillo's cross from deep on the right is met by Ramazani in the box, whose glancing header beats the dive of Courtois and flashes inches wide of the near post!

25' Vazquez and Camavinga each attempt forward passes to the wide forwards ahead of them, but on both occasions Rodrygo and Vinicius respectively are both met by a raised offside flag to deny their progress.

23' Only Elche and Troyes (one each) have kept fewer clean sheets than Almeria in Europe’s top five leagues this season (two, level with Stuttgart of the Bundesliga).

21' Rudiger turns and heads towards goal, driving through midfield before feeding Vazquez to his right. He floats a cross into the centre and Benzema gets the flick-on, but Vinicius is pinged for offside as he recovers the ball out wide.

19' Benzema's 16th league goal of the season is Madrid's 32nd in their 32 home games so far - the most in the division. They're currently closing Barca's lead at the top of La Liga to eight points with the Blaugrana still to play - and as Manchester City are showing in the Premier League, that margin is by no means insurmountable even at this stage of the campaign!

Rodrygo

Assist

17' Rodrygo's diminutive size suggests he's easy to knock off the ball, but he completely bullied Costa there to nudge possession back into his favour, before is searing pace allowed him to round the midfielder and tee up Benzema. Sensational.

K. Benzema

Goal

17' GOOOOOAAALLL!!! Make it five in a row!! Real Madrid double their lead as Vazquez dribbles into space down the right. Finding Rodrygo on an underlapping run, the winger shows great strength and skill to beat Costa in cover, before cutting the ball back to Benzema, who rifles it into the bottom corner! 2-0 inside 17 minutes, and Los Blancos are already in cruise control and firmly on top.

16' Real Madrid have won three of their last four home games in La Liga, scoring at least two goals in each of them. They last netted twice or more for five straight league matches back in June 2020.

14' SAVED!!! Kroos strikes this free-kick but sends the ball over the heads of everyone. Vinicius picks up the ball on the left edge, cutting inside before lashing a low shot straight at Martinez, who had his near post well covered!

13' Ceballos goes down on the edge of the box and wins a free-kick, but the wall does it's job to keep out Rodrygo's effort. The Brazilian recovers possession though, and is felled by Akieme to the right of where he struck his original effort and another free-kick is given.

11' Among current La Liga teams, Almeria are the team Real Madrid have faced the most times at home (six) and maintained a 100 per cent winning record, and they're already on course to extend that run to seven.

9' SAVED!!! Militao steps into midfield to win possession back for Madrid, playing the ball forward to Benzema. He plays a one-two with Vinicius and receives a delightfully back-heeled return ball, before firing a low shot straight into Martinez's grasp!

8' Ramazani turns his marker and races towards the box, but pulls the trigger from some 20 yards and sends the ball sailing over Courtois' crossbar.

7' Almeria have failed to win any of the last 11 league matches in which they've conceded first, dating back to October against Celta de Vigo. They've also won none of the nine matches they've conceded first on the road this season, losing eight of these such matches.

Vinícius Júnior

Assist

5' He's already burned Mendes once, but Vinicius had the beating of Almeria's right-back once again, gliding beyond the Bissau-Guinean's challenge to tee up Benzema for the simplest of finishes.

K. Benzema

Goal

5' GOOOOOAAALLL!!! A sublime start for Los Blancos!! Militao's inch-perfect cross-field pass finds Vinicius on the fly, who darts past his marker and clips the ball into the middle with the outside of his foot. Benzema arrives, and as we've become so accustomed to, Benzema finishes, slotting into the back of the net to give Real Madrid a 1-0 lead! A goal of the highest quality, and the hosts lead inside five first-half minutes.

4' CHANCE!!! Vinicius bursts past Mendes before cutting inside and crossing, and fires the ball into the box. The cross bounces just as Benzema arrives on the scene, limiting the contact he can get on the ball which ends up in the grateful gloves of Martinez!

3' Ceballos whips a threatening cross into the Almeria box, aiming for Benzema, but Chumi climbs highest to glance the ball behind for the game's first corner.

2' Real Madrid have lost just one of their 13 meetings with Almeria in La Liga (a 2-0 defeat in February 2008), and have won the last six - their longest winning streak against La Union in the competition’s history.

1' Real Madrid captain Benzema gets the game underway, and we're off and running in the Spanish capital!

The teams head out onto the pitch, and we're almost ready for kick-off at a sunlit Santiago Bernabeu stadium!

Striker Luis Suarez netted once in each half as Almeria defeated Getafe 2-1 in their last game, but with the Colombian on the bench and top scorer El Bilal Toure out injured, Brazilian forward Lazaro leads the line on his own for La Union’s visit to the capital.

Lucas Vazquez scored a late consolation for Madrid against Girona, netting five minutes from time to make the scoreline 4-2 and a touch more respectable. He also netted on the opening day to equalise against Almeria, and starts at right-back looking to provide La Union with similar problems from the flanks.

ALMERIA SUBS: Diego Marino, Gonzalo Melero, Inigo Eguaras, Lucas Robertone, Adrian Embarba, Dyego Sousa, Leo Baptistao, Luis Suarez, Alejandro Pozo, Alex Centelles, Marciano Sanca.

ALMERIA (4-5-1): Fernando Martinez; Houboulang Mendes, Rodrigo Ely, Chumi, Sergio Akieme; Arnau Puigmal, Francisco Portillo, Cesar De la Hoz, Samuel Costa, Largie Ramazani; Lazaro.

REAL MADRID SUBS: Andriy Lunin, Luis Lopez, Dani Carvajal, Jesus Vallejo, Nacho, Eden Hazard, Marco Asensio, Federico Valverde, Alvaro Odriozola, Mariano Diaz.

REAL MADRID (4-3-3): Thibaut Courtois; Lucas Vazquez, Eder Militao, Antonio Rudiger, Eduardo Camavinga; Dani Ceballos, Aurelien Tchouameni, Toni Kroos; Rodrygo, Karim Benzema, Vinicius Junior.

Almeria sit just two points and three places above the bottom three in 15th, and have won just twice in their last eight league games. They lost 2-1 at home to Real Madrid on the opening day of the season, but did manage to beat Barcelona 1-0 in February, condemning the leaders to only their second domestic defeat of the season.

Second-placed Madrid’s chasing down of runaway leaders Barcelona has stuttered somewhat in recent weeks, losing three of their last six including a Clasico defeat by the Blaugrana at Camp Nou, and a four-goal haul from Taty Castellanos condemned Los Blancos to a 4-2 defeat in Girona last time out.

Hello, and welcome to live coverage of this La Liga fixture, as defending champions Real Madrid host Almeria at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.

Real Madrid v Almería Live Commentary, 29/04/2023

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