Barcelona edge closer to LaLiga title after cruising to win over Real Betis

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Barcelona edged closer to the LaLiga title with a 4-0 win over 10-man Real Betis.

Andreas Christensen, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha scored inside 40 minutes before Guido Rodriguez’s late own goal rounded off the scoring as the leaders cruised to victory.

Betis substitute Edgar Gonzalez, who was on the pitch for just 21 minutes, was sent off for two yellow cards after 33 minutes.

Victory leaves Barca, who had won one of their previous four league games, 11 points clear of Real Madrid at the top with six games remaining.

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Earlier, Karim Benzema’s hat-trick inspired Madrid to a 4-2 win over Almeria.

The striker – who has scored three trebles in April – helped Madrid briefly close the gap at the top to eight points.

Benzema’s close-range finish after five minutes meant he became the second Real Madrid player to score 350 goals in all competitions after Cristiano Ronaldo.

The striker added a second after 17 minutes following Rodrygo’s brilliant assist and completed his hat-trick from the spot when Lucas Vazquez was tripped by Largie Ramazani.

Lazaro pulled a goal back for the visitors in first-half stoppage time but Rodrygo made it 4-1 two minutes after the restart, although Lucas Robertone grabbed another consolation.

Benzema was denied a penalty after a VAR check as Madrid cantered to victory while, earlier, already relegated Elche beat Rayo Vallecano 4-0.

In Serie A, Alexis Saelemaekers’ dramatic leveller deep in stoppage time kept AC Milan ahead of Roma in the race for the top four.

Tammy Abraham had struck in the third minute of stoppage time with a goal which looked set to send Roma above AC Milan, only for Saelemaekers to level four minutes later to secure a 1-1 draw.

Mid-table Torino lost 2-1 at home to Atalanta after Duvan Zapata’s late winner added to Davide Zappacosta’s goal. Antonio Sanabria had levelled earlier for Torino.

RB Leipzig beat Hoffenheim 1-0 thanks to Chelsea-bound Christopher Nkunku to tighten their grip on fifth place in the Bundesliga.

Freiburg beat Cologne 1-0 to close the gap on third-placed Union Berlin who drew 0-0 with Bayer Leverkusen.

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Eintracht Frankfurt and Augsburg drew 1-1, struggling Stuttgart beat Borussia Monchengladbach 2-1, while Schalke beat Werder Bremen 2-1 to boost their survival hopes.

In Ligue 1, England Under-21 striker Angel Gomes scored in Lille’s 3-0 victory over Ajaccio.

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