French striker Karim Benzema scored a hat-trick as he lit up Real Madrid's game against Athletic Bilbao (3-0) on Sunday for the 33rd round of the Spanish league, consolidating Madrid's third place and continuing to to live in a team remobilized by Zinedine Zidane.
Towards a record season. At the Santiago-Bernabeu stadium, Benzema put two head shots (47th, 76th) to decant a game hooked, then he hit the empty cage after a dangerous exit from the goalkeeper (90th). With his first hat-trick this season, he has reached 30 goals in all competitions, including 21 in La Liga. And he is only two lengths away from his best year in the merengue jersey: 32 goals in 2011/12.
The objectives of Zinedine Zidane. This success allows Real (3rd, 64 pts) to stay in the wake of Atlético (2nd, 68 pts) while Zidane, back on the bench in early March, has set as a goal the second place behind the untouchable leader Barcelona (1st, 77 pts), very close to the title. By the way, the "White House" also maintains its lead over Getafe (4th, 54 pts), who beat his pursuer Sevilla (52 pts) 3-0 in the race for the fourth and final qualifying place for the Champions League.