Barcelona followed up last weekend's 3-1 defeat at Real Madrid with another reverse on Saturday, squandering a host of chances to lose 1-0 at home to Celta Vigo and handing the lead in La Liga to their arch rivals.
Barcelona endured a frustrating evening in their La Liga season opener with a 0-0 draw in a feisty affair at Getafe.
It was the third game in a row in which Real had broken the deadlock thanks to a penalty and they sealed the win when Benzema turned provider and allowed Marco Asensio to tap into an empty net early in the second half.
Anyone who has watched the Argentine in recent years knows he can do things with a football that seem to defy the laws of physics and he does not fit into the mould of a traditional striker.
Real Madrid can bury Atletico's hopes of winning La Liga with a third straight victory against their city neighbours on Sunday that would leave the capital's second club trailing by six points.
Sevilla goalkeeper Sergio Rico blundered and then made two brilliant late stops as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Alaves on Monday that dented their La Liga title bid.
Gareth Bale again came to Real Madrid's rescue by heading home the winner in a 1-0 win at Real Sociedad on Saturday that keeps their title hopes alive.
Atletico midfielder Saul Niguez, however, criticised his side for not showing enough ambition early in the game.
'I expect a brave Napoli that plays from the back and presses high, that doesn't speculate, has a lot of individual talent, it's a big game and it's a great team, current champions of Italy.'
'We have to improve and become stronger in defence, which is the most important thing.'
Not content with setting a record of 17 goals for one edition of the Champions League last season, Cristiano Ronaldo is already well on the way towards breaking Lionel Messi's La Liga best haul of 50 goals in one campaign.
Barcelona's 100 per cent start to the season was ended by Catalonian neighbours Girona, who picked up a draw at the Nou Camp, allowing Real Madrid to take advantage with a victory over Espanyol.
Cristiano Ronaldo netted a first-half penalty as injury-depleted Real Madrid recovered from their derby defeat by Atletico Madrid at the weekend with a 3-1 win at Levante on Wednesday.
Barcelona rode their luck to come from behind and win 2-1 at Real Sociedad on Saturday, continuing to banish their awful record in San Sebastian and maintaining their perfect start to the La Liga season.
Real Madrid barged their way back into the Spanish La Liga title race with a 3-1 victory over Atletico Madrid in a feisty derby at the Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday.
Barcelona, reduced to 10-man in the last half-an-hour, clinched a narrow win over Valencia in their La Liga match on Sunday.
Gareth Bale said Real Madrid are determined to wrest back the Spanish league title from Barcelona this season after going four years without tasting La Liga success. Bale has won the Champions League twice and the King's Cup since joining the Bernabeu club in 2013, but the league title has proved elusive. Real missed out on the league to Barcelona on the final day of last season by a point and have not won the title since 2012, when they collected a record 100 points under Jose Mourinho.
Real Madrid's Gareth Bale came off the bench and coolly converted a controversial penalty to secure a 2-1 win at Levante in La Liga on Sunday as the European champions rode their luck to stay within nine points of leaders Barcelona.
IMAGES from football matches played across Europe on Wednesday.
Ernesto Valverde's Bilbao team punished the visitors with clinical counter-attacks, playing with the advantage of having won the first leg 1-0 in Madrid.
Messi, who has struggled for form in recent weeks due to a niggling injury, looked on a mission to grab the winner and after twice coming close he completed his treble to put Barca ahead in the 85th minute, reacting quickly to a poor Sevilla clearance to dink the ball over goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik.
Cristiano Ronaldo netted his 18th and 19th La Liga goals of the season as Real Madrid survived some late pressure to win 3-2 at city rivals Getafe on Monday and trim the gap to leaders Barcelona back to two points.
A delightful flick and volley from Neymar allowed him to complete a double as Barcelona beat Villarreal 3-0 to go three points clear at the top of La Liga ahead of Real Madrid's clash with Sevilla later on Sunday.
Barcelona moved six points clear at the top of La Liga by easing to a 4-0 win at home to Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday with doubles from Luis Suarez and Paulinho ahead of next week's 'Clasico' against champions Real Madrid.
Barcelona won the La Liga title with a comfortable 3-0 victory at Granada thanks to a Luis Suarez hat-trick in the season finale on Saturday.
Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale answered his critics in emphatic style.
Portugal international Goncalo Guedes fired Valencia into the lead in the 35th minute with a thumping shot from inside the area which was too powerful for Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas.
The following is the draw for the Champions League last 16 which was held in Nyon on Monday:
Marco Asensio's strike earned Real Madrid a 1-0 win over Espanyol to send them top of La Liga and Thomas Lemar scored his first goal for Atletico Madrid in a 2-0 victory at Getafe on Saturday.
Substitute Sergio Araujo struck a late equaliser as Las Palmas held Real Madrid to a 2-2 draw and left them with a one-point lead over Barcelona at the top of La Liga on Saturday.
Midfielder Santi Cazorla gave the home side the lead in the fourth minute of the game, which was rescheduled due to Real's participation in last month's Club World Cup, by bending a wonderful shot into the bottom corner.
A Neymar double, a spectacular volley from Luis Suarez and a goal for Lionel Messi saw top of the table Barcelona's unstoppable strike force sweep aside Real Sociedad 4-0 in La Liga on Saturday.
Aritz Aduriz nodded the first goal and set up another as Athletic Bilbao beat Espanyol 3-1 to climb to ninth in La Liga on Friday.
A Champions League spot, two Europa League berths and two relegation places are to be claimed or avoided in what promises to be a nerve-wracking finale to the La Liga season on Sunday.
Lionel Messi scored twice and Luis Suarez struck his first La Liga goal as Barcelona crushed struggling Cordoba 5-0 on Saturday.
Third-placed Valencia missed a chance to open a five-point lead over chasing Malaga when the Europa League semi-finalists crashed to a 4-0 reverse at Espanyol in La Liga on Sunday.
Athletic Bilbao ended Getafe's run of four straight wins and climbed above them into fifth place in La Liga when Aymeric Laporte's early bullet header secured a 1-0 win at the Coliseum in Madrid on Monday.
Barcelona have one hand firmly on the La Liga title after winning 2-0 at Alaves on Tuesday, leaving them 12 points clear at the top of the table with four games to play.
Joao Miranda and new signing Mario Mandzukic led Atletico Madrid to a 2-1 home win in La Liga on Saturday as visitors Eibar were unable to cope with the aerial threat of the champions.
