Karim Benzema scored a spectacular volley before Tony Kroos added another as Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0 to move within three points behind of league leaders Barcelons.
Benzema became Real Madrid’s joint all-time second-top scorer in La Liga. Raul scored 228 goals in 550 games; Benzema has matched him in just 425 games, second to Cristiano Ronaldo’s 311 goals.
💫 2⃣2⃣8⃣ 💫@Benzema equals @RaulGonzalez as the second highest goalscorer in @LaLigaEN in Real Madrid history!#RealFootball pic.twitter.com/PBkn8VNTne
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) January 22, 2023
Benzema’s sixth goal in six matches since the World Cup came with a left-footed volley from inside the area in the 24th minute at San Mames Stadium.
Benzema won the men’s Ballon d’Or award after a great season and had high expectations heading into the World Cup, but he was dropped from France’s squad because of a thigh injury sustained in training just days before the team’s debut.
🪄🎩 “And for my next trick, I’ll finish off the game at San Mamés.” pic.twitter.com/44lBT0W4nr
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) January 22, 2023
Madrid had not won a league game since December.
“He came back with the same quality,” Madrid coach Carlos Ancelotti said. “He helps us a lot in attack.”
Di Maria steps up for Juventus
Angel di Maria was at his best but still it wasn’t enough to prevent Juventus from being held to a 3-3 draw at home by Atalanta in their first match since being penalized 15 points for false accounting.
Lookman put Atalanta ahead early on with a powerful shot that Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny let squirm in.
Di Maria then converted from the spot before his backheel pass set up Nicolò Fagioli to cross for Arkadiusz Milik’s volley.
Lookman set up Maehle’s goal after Juventus gave the ball away in its own half then headed in his second before Danilo equalized on a set piece as Di Maria rolled it back to him to fire in after Atalanta’s wall fell apart.
Lookman has 11 goals this season to sit second on the league scoring chart behind Napoli’s Victor Osimhen — his teammate on Nigeria national team — who has 13.
Dortmund pip Augsburg 4-3
Gio Reyna scored the winning goal in his first game since the World Cup as Borussia Dortmund beat Augsburg 4-3 in a seven-goal thriller.
Augsburg managed to equalise three times before Gio Reyna’s 78th minute looping shot gave the hosts victory in their season restart following a two-month break.
American midfielder Reyna came on in the 70th minute in his first competitive match since the World Cup, where he was limited to a pair of substitute appearances.
Eight minutes after coming on, Reyna was left in space to the right of the penalty area allowing him to control the ball before flicking it up and over goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz.
The 20-year-old Reyna marked his goal with a series of gestures that appeared to signal he was blocking out the furor. He first placed his finger to his lips, then open and closed his right hand in a chattering motion, cupped his right hand to his hear, then plugged both his ears with his index fingers.
He later posted on Instagram a photo of himself with his finger to his lips and the matter-of-fact message: “Crazy game, 3 points, on to the next.”