Barcelona close in on LaLiga title after thrashing Real Betis

Barcelona edged closer to the LaLiga title with a 4-0 win over 10-man Real Betis.

<br>Andreas Christensen, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha scored inside 40 minutes before Guido Rodriguez's late own goal rounded off the scoring as the leaders cruised to victory.

<br>Betis substitute Edgar Gonzalez, who was on the pitch for just 21 minutes, was sent off for two yellow cards after 33 minutes.

<br>Victory leaves Barca, who had won one of their previous four league games, 11 points clear of Real Madrid at the top with six games remaining.

<br>Earlier, Karim Benzema's hat-trick inspired Madrid to a 4-2 win over Almeria.

<br>The striker - who has scored three trebles in April - helped Madrid briefly close the gap at the top to eight points.

<br>Benzema's close-range finish after five minutes meant he became the second Real Madrid player to score 350 goals in all competitions after Cristiano Ronaldo.

<br>The striker added a second after 17 minutes following Rodrygo's brilliant assist and completed his hat-trick from the spot when Lucas Vazquez was tripped by Largie Ramazani.

<br>Lazaro pulled a goal back for the visitors in first-half stoppage time but Rodrygo made it 4-1 two minutes after the restart, although Lucas Robertone grabbed another consolation.

<br>Benzema was denied a penalty after a VAR check as Madrid cantered to victory while, earlier, already relegated Elche beat Rayo Vallecano 4-0.

<br>In Serie A, Alexis Saelemaekers' dramatic leveller deep in stoppage time kept AC Milan ahead of Roma in the race for the top four.

<br>Tammy Abraham had struck in the third minute of stoppage time with a goal which looked set to send Roma above AC Milan, only for Saelemaekers to level four minutes later to secure a 1-1 draw.

<br>Mid-table Torino lost 2-1 at home to Atalanta after Duvan Zapata's late winner added to Davide Zappacosta's goal. Antonio Sanabria had levelled earlier for Torino.

<br>RB Leipzig beat Hoffenheim 1-0 thanks to Chelsea-bound Christopher Nkunku to tighten their grip on fifth place in the Bundesliga.

<br>Freiburg beat Cologne 1-0 to close the gap on third-placed Union Berlin who drew 0-0 with Bayer Leverkusen.

<br>Eintracht Frankfurt and Augsburg drew 1-1, struggling Stuttgart beat Borussia Monchengladbach 2-1, while Schalke beat Werder Bremen 2-1 to boost their survival hopes.

<br>In Ligue 1, England Under-21 striker Angel Gomes scored in Lille's 3-0 victory over Ajaccio.

<p>The article <a href="https://www.planetsport.com/soccer/news/barcelona-close-laliga-title-after-thrashing-real-betis">Barcelona close in on LaLiga title after thrashing Real Betis </a> appeared first on Planetsport.com.</p>