Karim Benzema scored a first-half hat-trick as Real Madrid recovered from a disappointing midweek loss at Girona by beating lowly Almería 4-2 at home in La Liga on Saturday. Benzema opened the scoring in the fifth minute with a close range shot from a Vinícius Júnior cross and extended Real’s lead 12 minutes later after a magnificent individual play by Rodrygo. He netted his third from the penalty spot in the 42nd minute after Lucas Vázquez was fouled inside the box. Lázaro tried to put Almería back in the game by scoring from point-blank range three minutes later but Real extended their lead right after the break after Rodrygo rifled a shot from the edge of the box into the top corner. Real wasted several chances to extend their lead further with Rodrygo and Vinícius missing sitters from close range and Benzema and Marco Asensio hitting the post twice. A Lucas Robertone header narrowed the deficit after Toni Kroos gifted the ball to the opposition inside his own box. Andreas Christensen, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha were on target as Barcelona thrashed 10-man Real Betis 4-0 to tighten their grip on top spot and move a step closer to a 27th La Liga title. With only six games remaining, Barça are now on 79 points, 11 ahead of Real Madrid, while Betis remain sixth on 49 points. Christensen opened the scoring for Barcelona in the 14th minute with a point-blank header after a cross from Raphinha. Barça’s job was made easier by the Betis defender Edgar González, who came off the bench in the 12th minute to replace the injured Luiz Felipe but was sent off 21 minutes later after receiving two yellow cards for two bad tackles. The locals made the most of their advantage before the break, scoring twice within three minutes thanks to strikes by Lewandowski and Raphinha. Barça took their foot off the pedal after that but managed to extend their lead thanks to an own-goal by the defender Guido Rodríguez, who scored while trying to clear an Ansu Fati cross in the six-yard-box. In Italy, Alexis Saelemaekers’ 97th-minute goal gave Milan a vital draw away to Roma. José Mourinho’s side seemed to have won the game – and moved above Milan into the final Champions League place – when Tammy Abraham finished clinically in the 93rd minute. But Milan equalised when Saelemaekers forced Rafael Leão’s cross through the goalkeeper Rui Patrício. The two goals were the only shots on target. Leão has now been involved in 19 goals so far this season, scoring 12 with seven assists, and has equalled his overall tally from last term – 11 goals, eight assists. Milan host second-bottom Cremonese on Wednesday when Roma travel to ninth-placed Monza. Union Berlin drew 0-0 with Bayer Leverkusen, who are now unbeaten in 14 matches, in the Bundesliga on Saturday. Union made the better start and pushed for the opener but a scoreless draw was perhaps the predictable outcome from a meeting of the teams with the best defences in the league since the winter break. Union are third but level on points with fourth-placed Freiburg, who won 1-0 at Köln thanks to a goal from the Japan midfielder Ritsu Doan. RB Leipzig are two points back in fifth after Christopher Nkunku’s frst-half strike earned them a 1-0 win at Hoffenheim. Dominick Drexler scored late to give Schalke a 2-1 victory against Werder Bremen and boost their chances of avoiding relegation, while Stuttgart triumphed by the same scoreline against Borussia Mönchengladbach and Eintracht Frankfurt played out a 1-1 draw with Augsburg. Toulouse hammered holders Nantes 5-1 in the French Cup final after scoring four first-half goals at the Stade de France to secure the club’s first major trophy on Saturday. The defender Logan Costa and the striker Thijs Dallinga both netted twice inside the opening 31 minutes. In the second half Nantes managed to pull a goal back with a penalty as the midfielder Ludovic Blas fired into the roof of the net 15 minutes from time, but Toulouse’s Zakaria Aboukhlal wrapped up a one-sided victory by smashing home their fifth from distance.