Former Real youth player Joselu pulled a goal back for Alaves in the 59th minute, powering in a header from a free kick, but Benzema rounded off the victory for second-placed Real with an exquisite solo run and goal in the 70th minute.
Real Madrid set up a King's Cup semi-final against holders Atletico Madrid or Athletic Bilbao when they beat Espanyol 1-0 in their quarter-final, second leg on Tuesday for a 2-0 aggregate success.
That tiny blip aside, CR7, as he is fondly known by fans has had a spectacular season. As the handsome Portuguese rings in his 29th birthday, Rediff.com brings you all the exciting moments from the footballer's life over the last year.
Barcelona must wait a bit longer before they can claim their La Liga crown after drawing 2-2 with Athletic Bilbao, while Paris St Germain and Juventus continued to close in on the French and Italian titles.
The Real Madrid striker has been left out of the squad to play Athletic Bilbao this weekend because of a minor leg strain.
Barcelona's 2-1 loss at Ajax Amsterdam in the Champions League last week was down to a lack of intensity while Sunday's 1-0 reverse at Athletic Bilbao in La Liga exposed their relative physical frailty.
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Holders Portugal must face Ukraine and Serbia in a tricky five-team Group B while world champions France drew Iceland and Turkey in Group H. The top two teams from each group qualify automatically. Unlike previous tournaments, the playoffs to decide the four other spots will be contested between the most successful teams from the four divisions of the Nations League who have not already qualified.
Mahindra Racing enjoyed its best result of the season as Efren Vazquez and Miguel Oliveira finished fifth and sixth respectively at the Catalunyan Grand Prix of the Moto3 World Championship, in Barcelona, on Sunday.
Atletico Madrid turned up the heat on champions Barcelona when they fought back to secure a 2-1 win at home to Athletic Bilbao in La Liga on Sunday as Real Madrid slipped off the pace with a 1-0 loss at Villarreal.
World champion Viswanathan Anand notched up his first title of the year when he scored an emphatic victory over German Arkadij Naiditsch to lift the Grenke Chess Classic trophy in Baden Baden, Germany.
Lionel Messi scored a 50th freekick goal for Barcelona as he led his side to a quick-fire comeback to win 3-2 at Valencia on Sunday and keep the pressure on La Liga title rivals Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid.
Cristiano Ronaldo proved too powerful for Athletic Bilbao as he scored with a fizzing free kick and a towering header in Real Madrid's bruising 3-0 victory at San Mames in La Liga on Sunday.
Playing without crowd will be peculiar: Suarez
Second half of abandoned Rayo-Albacete will kick-off proceedings on return.
La Liga leaders Barcelona were held to a 2-2 home draw by Celta Vigo on Saturday as their former assistant coach Juan Carlos Unzue dented the title hopes of the Catalans, who dropped points for the second game in a row for the first time this campaign.
AC midfielder Franck Kessie scored from a penalty to give AC Milan a 2-2 draw away to Napoli in Serie A on Sunday, sparing the blushes of his goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma whose mistakes provided the hosts with both their goals. Sevilla closed in on Champions League qualification by beating struggling Real Mallorca 2-0 at home to open up a nine-point gap in the race for fourth spot in La Liga.
Substitute Fernando Torres scored his 100th Atletico Madrid goal as they rallied from 1-0 down to beat visiting Eibar 3-1 and go level with Barcelona at the top of La Liga on Saturday. Two headed goals from corner kicks seven minutes apart by central defenders Jose Maria Gimenez and Saul put Atletico on track after Keko had given Eibar the lead in the 46th. Coach Diego Simeone will be glad his side ended a run of four matches without a win in La Liga and the King's Cup while Torres, who netted in added time, had been waiting since a victory at Eibar in September to reach his century for the club. Atletico are unlikely to stay joint top on 51 points beyond Sunday as rampant Barcelona, who have a better goal difference and two matches in hand, visit bottom team Levante. Real Madrid, away to Granada on Sunday, are in third place, four points off the pace.
Costa, Alba excluded from Spain squad
It went from bad to worse for Viswanathan Anand. The World champion suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of Norwegian Magnus Carlsen in the ninth and penultimate round of fifth Final Chess Masters in Bilbao, Spain. Having drawn the first eight games in the tournament, Anand was expected to hold fort against Carlsen, but the Indian ace cracked under pressure and went on to lose his first game in the tournament.
An impudent individual goal from Philippe Coutinho steered Liverpool comfortably into the quarter-finals of the Europa League on Thursday after a 1-1 draw at bitter rivals Manchester United completed a 3-1 aggregate win.
Holders Barcelona cruised into the King's Cup quarter-finals when a side missing several regulars beat city rivals Espanyol 2-0, with Munir El Haddadi netting both goals in a thumping 6-1 aggregate success on Wednesday.
Valencia climbed above Atletico Madrid and Sevilla into third in La Liga when Alvaro Negredo came off the bench to score a late winner in a 3-2 home victory over his former club Almeria on Saturday.
Athletic Bilbao and Atletico Madrid overcame German opposition to reach the Europa League semi-finals on Thursday while fellow Spaniards Valencia joined them by demolishing AZ Alkmaar.
The Catalans will not just be looking to extend their domestic hegemony, though, as they have spent a combined 250 million euros ($280 million) on a renewed bid to win the Champions League.
Valencia have agreed to appoint Ernesto Valverde to replace Mauricio Pellegrino as their new coach until the end of the season, the Spanish club said on Monday.
Unbeaten leaders Barcelona pulled six points clear of chasing Atletico Madrid and set a record for the best start to a La Liga season when Lionel Messi scored twice in a 5-1 drubbing of Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
Midfielder Cesc Fabregas moved Barcelona a step closer to the La Liga title with a late strike in a laboured 1-0 victory at home to mid-table Levante on Saturday.
Seven-time European champions AC Milan will face Arsenal in the standout last-16 tie in the Europa League after the draw was made in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday.
Bikash Mohapatra salutes Radamel Falcao and Diego Simeone, the men who fashioned Atletico Madrid's Europa Cup triumph.
Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao should serve up a Europa League final to remember on Wednesday and remind the continent that Spain is not just about Real Madrid or Barcelona.
De Jong is proud to join the likes of compatriots Ronald Koeman, Frank de Boer and Patrick Kluivert in heading to the Nou Camp, having dreamed of wearing Barca colours.
World champion Viswanathan Anand could not fetch a win till the very end as he settled for a draw with Russia's Sergey Karjakin in the 10th and final round of fifth Final Chess Masters to finish a lowly fifth, in Bilbao, Spain.
World champion Viswanathan Anand's hunt for an elusive victory continued as he was held to a draw by Fabiano Caruana of Italy in the eighth round of the fifth Final Masters here at the Alhondiga in Bilbao, Spain.
World champion Viswanathan Anand played out his seventh draw in as many games, signing peace with World No 2 Levon Aronian of Armenia in the seventh round of the fifth Final Chess Masters in Bilbao, Spain.
World Champion Viswanathan Anand played out his sixth draw on the trot, signing peace with Francisco Vallejo Pons of Spain in round six of fifth Final Masters chess championship in Bilbao.
Aiming for a win that has so far been elusive, world champion Viswanathan Anand will lock horns with an out-of-form Sergey Karjakin of Russia in the fourth round of the fifth Final Masters in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
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