Madrid, Sept 11: Real Madrid went to the top of La Liga ahead of Barcelona after a Karim Benzema brace and goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain were enough to cancel out two Miku strikes and give the home side a 4-2 victory over neighbours Getafe at Santiago Bernabeu.
Madrid broke the deadlock in the 13th minute when Mesut Ozil picked up the ball in midfield and drove forwards before trading a one-two with Fabio Coentrao and then sliding the ball into the feet of Karim Benzema just inside the box, and the Frenchman quickly shifted his feet before drilling the ball into the top right corner.
The home side had a host of chances to extend their lead in the first half but each were squandered.
Most notably being Fabio Coentrao narrowly putting the ball by the post after dinking a shot over Moya from a tight angle.The Getafe goalkeeper also kept his side in the match in the first 45 minutes, saving a powerful header from Ronaldo.
The visitors silenced the vibrant Santiago Bernabeu crowd in the 38th minute when Masilela dribbled down the left and played a pass into Lacen just outside the box who managed to squeeze a pass through the Madrid defence to Miku, who remained onside to emphatically smash the ball into the bottom left corner.
Jose Mourinho's men grabbed a slightly controversial second goal in the 58th minute when Cata Diaz was judged to have fouled Ronaldo in the Getafe box, even though the tackle looked just outside the penalty area. CR9 successfully dispatched the penalty to put Madrid 2-1 up.
Karim Benzema got his second goal of the game in the 69th minute after latching on to a sensational pass between Moya and the Getafe defence from Ronaldo to calmly slide the ball home.
Getafe snatched a lifeline 3 minutes later when Miku took advantage of some pinball football in the Real Madrid defence to tuck the ball in the bottom right corner.
Gonzalo Higuain put the game beyond doubt in the 88th minute when he slid the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
This result sees Real Madrid go top of La Liga and create a two point gap between themselves and champions, Barcelona with two games played each. Getafe are now down to 13th place in the league table but will be encouraged at the display they have put on this evening.
