Karim Benzema scored a seven Minute Hat Trick as Real Madrid moved back twelve points off Barcelona thanks to a convincing 6-0 victory over Real Valladolid.
Rodrygo scored Madrid’s first goal off a pass from Marco Asensio, and then Benzema headed in a superb cross from Vinicius Jr.
Following another cross from Vinicius, the Frenchman curled in his second goal before converting a close-range overhead kick. Asensio and Lucas Vazquez also scored.
Since Fernando Hierro’s three goals in six minutes during a 7-0 victory over Espanyol in April 1992, this was the quickest hat-trick by a Madrid player in a La Liga encounter.
In addition to setting up Asensio’s goal and Benzema’s third goal, Rodrygo also hit the crossbar and had a goal disallowed for a Vinicius handball.
Roque Mesa and Kike Perez for Valladolid, who are only one point above the drop zone, struck the post in each half.
It was a confidence-boosting victory for Madrid, who are essentially eliminated from the title race but will play Barca in the second game of their Copa del Rey semifinal on Wednesday.
Boss Ancelotti was able to substitute key players like Benzema and Vinicius for others who had played sparingly lately, like Eden Hazard
The Belgian assisted in setting up Vazquez’s late strike in his first La Liga game since September.