Real Madrid draws level with Atletico on top of La Liga

After last night's 1-3 victory against Eibar at the Municipal de Ipurua, Real Madrid CF has levelled with Atletico Madrid with 29 points at the top of the Spanish La Liga table. However, their cross city rivals still have two games in hand against the defending champions. Atletico has so far played only 12 matches against Real's 14, putting Atletico in the driver's seat to take the solo lead.

It was another stellar performance for the old guard at Los Blancos, with Karim Benzema scoring his seventh league goal of the season in the 6th minute. Later, the Frenchman set up Croatian midfielder Luka Modric to double Real Madrid's lead in the opening 13 minutes.

Eibar tried to fight back, with captain Kike Garcia making a spectacular curled finish to beat Courtois just before the break. However, they never found the equaliser. Instead, the visitors extended the lead in the closing seconds of the match.

Lucas Vazquez, who is still without a contract with Real Madrid next season, scored the club's third goal in stoppage time.

Meanwhile, Real Sociedad moved down to third place on the table after briefly being a place holder at the top. They will be facing Atletico on Tuesday, in a match that will be key in establishing whether La Real will continue to be a title contender. Atletico will be keen on sealing another victory which could give them the outright lead.

Real Madrid will then have to play catch-up once again as they face Granada on Wednesday. After a dip in form earlier in the season, Real Madrid has now strung together five wins in a row across all competitions. They were able to salvage their UEFA Champions League campaign to win the group and qualify into the last 16. They are also now back on track to defend their La Liga title.

However, injuries as well as coronavirus infections have hampered the squad's consistency. It remains to be seen if Zidane's boys can stay healthy for the rest of the season. Captain Sergio Ramos in particular, has been sorely missed every time he was sidelined this season. Eden Hazard meanwhile, has suffered his eighth injury since joining the club last year.