Karim Benzema scored three goals in seven first-half minutes as Real Madrid thrashed Real Valladolid 6-0 on Sunday to cut Barcelona’s lead at the top of La Liga to 12 points. The hat-trick moved Benzema up to 14 league goals this season and second on the list of top scorers, three behind Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski. Rodrygo’s opener from a smooth counter-attack after 22 minutes opened the floodgates as Benzema took charge at the Santiago Bernabéu, netting a first-half hat-trick for Real Madrid for the first time in his career. Benzema scored his first with a diving header from a Vinícius Jr cross while narrowly avoiding a collision with the far post and the Brazilian also created the second with a simple pass for the French striker to score from the edge of the box. The 35-year-old completed his hat-trick when he adjusted his run into the six-yard box to turn on the spot and scoop a Rodrygo cross that was behind him to score while his back was towards goal. Rodrygo claimed another assist in the second half when Marco Asensio played a one-two pass with the Brazilian forward before firing home and Eden Hazard created the final goal as he pinched the ball from a loose pass and found Lucas Vázquez. A late goal from Ángel Correa earned Atlético Madrid a fourth straight win as they beat Real Betis 1-0, extending their unbeaten streak in L aLiga to 11 games. Milan striker Rafael Leão netted twice to give his side a superb 4-0 away victory over leaders Napoli in Serie A, moving Stefano Pioli’s side up to third place in the standings. The visitors went ahead after 17 minutes when Brahim Díaz sent a through ball to Leão who took a touch and chipped it elegantly over Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret. Díaz doubled the lead eight minutes later when he received a cross inside the box, threw a dummy that left Napoli defender Mário Rui stranded and sent the ball into the net with a deflection. Milan effectively ended the match 14 minutes into the second half when Leão ran into the box, twisted and turned past three Napoli defenders and lashed his shot in. Alexis Saelemaekers scored a fourth after 67 minutes with a solo effort in which he went past four defenders before putting the ball through Meret’s legs. Lazio tightened its grip on second place with a 2-0 win at Silvio Berlusconi’s Monza. A free kick from Sergej Milinkovic-Savic after the break doubled the lead after Pedro scored an early opener. Roma moved into fourth place after beating Sampdoria 3-0 at a rainy Stadio Olimpico, Georginio Wijnaldum, Paulo Dybala and Stephan El Shaarawy scoring second-half goals to see them home. Seven minutes after the break, Sampdoria were reduced to 10 men after defender Jeison Murillo received a second yellow card for a late tackle on Tammy Abraham. Sampdoria goalkeeper Nicola Ravaglia then pulled off some acrobatic saves to deny the hosts, first stopping Nicola Zalewski’s attempt from outside the box and then blocking the rebound shot from Lorenzo Pellegrini. But Roma were not to be denied, Wijnaldum scoring his second league goal of the season in the 57th minute with an easy header before winning an injury-time penalty, converted by Dybala, after which El Shaarawy sadded a third minutes into stoppage time. Paris St Germain’s title march towards the Ligue 1 title suffered another setback when they suffered a 1-0 home defeat by Lyon. The capital side, who only have the league to salvage a disappointing season after being knocked out of the French Cup and the Champions League, fell victim of Bradley Barcola’s second half goal and were left on 66 points from 29 games.