Karim Benzema scored his first La Liga goals since January to set Real Madrid on their way to a comprehensive 4-1 victory over Eibar at Ipurua Municipal on Saturday.
Without Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, Real started relatively slowly but took the lead after 14 minutes when Benzema fired under Yoel after his initial shot had been saved.
They were two goals to the good 11 minutes later when Benzema nodded home James Rodriguez’s free-kick unmarked at the back post, before Rodriguez got in on the action himself when he looped a first-time shot over the Eibar stopper on the half-hour mark.
Marco Asensio added a fourth after Rodriguez hit the post with an hour on the clock, before Ruben Pena reduced the arrears after 72 minutes when he bundled home Pedro Leon’s cross from the right.
Left without two of his biggest attacking threats – Bale through suspension and Ronaldo through injury – Zidane fielded Asensio and Lucas Vasquez to flank Benzema and try to break Real’s inconsistent league form of recent weeks.
Real allowed themselves to lose their grip on the La Liga topspot, while Eibar have far exceeded expectations this season and won three out of five in February.
The two sides both began the game content in possession and, for much of the first 10 minutes or so, neither registered an interest in beating either keeper.
But after 14 minutes, the Eibar defence lost track of Benzema on the right of the box. Asensio’s cross went unchallenged and also evaded Antonio Luna at the back post; though his first shot was clawed away by Yoel, it fell kindly back at the Frenchman’s feet and he fired under the stopper for just his sixth league goal of the season.
The Los Armeros’ defence was clearly still asleep 11 minutes later when Benzema found himself at the heart of the action once again. One of three unmarked Madrid players, as Rodriguez’s whipped free-kick came in, he nodded in his second.
And it was only minutes later when Rodriguez added his name to the scoresheet, concluding a Real counter-attack as he met Benzema’s low cross and looped a first-time shot over Yoel from an acute angle.
Tiredness was rife in the Eibar camp after a hard-fought 2-2 draw at Real Sociedad on Tuesday and the home side were visibly not up to the pace that had seen them lose just three home league games all season.
Real took full advantage of their opponents’ fatigue. Benzema sparked the fourth goal into life when he found Asensio on the left; the winger cut inside, but thought better of his own attack and crossed for Rodriguez.
But though the Colombian was leaning back and could only strike the post, Asensio had continued his run and picked up the rebound, before finishing off the move from close range.
Eibar’s top scorer, Sergi Enrich had a goal correctly ruled for offside, but before long Eibar denied Keylor Navas a much-desired clean sheet when Pena hit the back of the net.
