Mesut Ozil led the way for Real Madrid as the Spanish champions defeated Betis 3-1 in La Liga action at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.
The German international scored twice while Karim Benzema chipped in with a goal to give the hosts all three points in a hard-fought encounter.
Jose Mourinho’s men had one eye on the upcoming Champions League semi-final against Borussia Dortmund and were a little distracted in the early going.
Madrid started to wake up 20 minutes into the encounter as Cristiano Ronaldo had two good chances in a row but could not hit the target from promising positions.
Ronaldo had another opportunity to open the scoring late in the first half but his screamer from 25 yards out bounced off the post and somehow stayed out of the net.
Ozil then gave Real Madrid a 1-0 lead just before the half-time interval when he played a neat one-two with Benzema and slid the ball past Betis goalkeeper Adrian.
The home side doubled its advantage in the 57th minute when Ronaldo threaded in a pinpoint pass that Benzema directed past Adrian at the far post.
It wasn’t vintage Real Madrid by any means but it was two goals to the good with 30 minutes left to play.
Betis managed to pull a goal back when Nacho was penalized for committing a foul in the penalty area. Jorge Colina made no mistake from the spot to give the visitors some real hope with 15 minutes left in the game.
Ronaldo tried to restore the two-goal cushion for Madrid but Adrian punched out his swerving shot.
Betis then had two glorious chances to tie the game but Ruben Castro inexplicably hit the crossbar from close range and the follow up was cleared off the line.
Real Madrid was hanging by a thread but survived the late onslaught and put the game to bed in the 90th minute when Ozil tapped in from close range to make it 3-1.
Mesut Ozil was the star of the show in Real Madrid’s win and the Spanish champions will now turn their attentions to the upcoming Champions League showdown with Borussia Dortmund.
