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AC Milan striker Rafael Leao netted twice to give his side a superb 4-0 away victory over Serie A leaders Napoli on Sunday, moving Stefano Pioli’s side up to third place in the standings.
Milan have 51 points, one ahead of fourth-placed Inter Milan, and are four behind second-placed Lazio. Napoli are 20 points clear at the top.
The visitors went ahead after 17 minutes when Brahim Diaz sent a through ball to Leao who took a touch and chipped it elegantly over Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret.
Diaz doubled the lead eight minutes later when he received a cross inside the box, threw a dummy that left Napoli defender Mario Rui stranded and sent the ball into the net with a deflection.
Milan effectively ended the match 14 minutes into the second half when Leao ran into the box, twisted and turned past three Napoli defenders and lashed his shot in.
Alexis Saelemaekers scored a fourth after 67 minutes with a solo effort in which he went past four defenders before putting the ball through Meret’s legs.
Meanwhile, AS Roma beat Sampdoria 3-0 at a rainy Stadio Olimpico on Sunday to move into the fourth place in Serie A thanks second-half goals from Georginio Wijnaldum, Paulo Dybala and Stephan El Shaarawy.
Benzema nets seven-minute hat-trick
Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema celebrates his third
Karim Benzema scored three goals in seven first-half minutes as Real Madrid thrashed Real Valladolid 6-0 to cut Barcelona’s lead in LaLiga to 12 points.
The hat-trick moved Benzema up to 14 league goals this season and second on the list of top scorers – three behind Barca’s Robert Lewandowski.
Rodrygo’s opener from a smooth counter-attack after 22 minutes opened the flood gates as Benzema took charge at the Santiago Bernabeu, netting a first half hat-trick for Real Madrid for the first time in his career.
Benzema scored his first with a diving header from a Vinicius Jr cross while narrowly avoiding a collision with the far post and the Brazilian also created the second with a simple pass for the French striker to score from the edge of the box.
The 35-year-old completed his hat-trick when he adjusted his run into the six-yard box to turn on the spot and scoop a Rodrygo cross that was behind him to score while his back was towards goal.
Rodrygo claimed another assist in the second half when Marco Asensio played a one-two pass with the Brazilian forward before firing home and Eden Hazard created the final goal as he pinched the ball from a loose pass and found Lucas Vazquez.
Valladolid, who fell to a second straight LaLiga defeat, are 16th, a point above the relegation zone.
PSG’s title march slowed down with Lyon defeat
Paris Saint-Germain remain six points clear at the top
Paris Saint-Germain’s title march towards the Ligue 1 title suffered another setback when they suffered a 1-0 home defeat by Lyon.
The capital side, who only have the league to salvage a disappointing season after being knocked out of the French Cup and the Champions League, fell victim of Bradley Barcola’s second half goal and were left on 66 points from 29 games.
They lead second-placed RC Lens, who beat Stade Rennais 1-0 away on Saturday, by six points with third-placed Olympique de Marseille also on 60 points after a 1-1 draw with Montpellier on Friday.
Earlier on Sunday, fourth-placed Monaco moved within three points of Marseille after a spectacular 4-3 home victory against Racing Strasbourg.
Lyon, who are ninth on 44 points, held firm until the final whistle and will head into Wednesday’s French Cup semi-final full of confidence while PSG, who were handed their fifth league defeat of the season, will need to regain their composure with a top-of-the table meeting with Lens in two weeks.
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