Soccer-Real Madrid close in on LaLiga title with win at Osasuna

April 20 (Reuters) – Real Madrid continued their march towards a 35th LaLiga title as goals by David Alaba, Marco Asensio and Lucas Vazquez earned them a 3-1 win at Osasuna on Wednesday with Karim Benzema missing two penalties.

The victory means Real have 78 points and hold a 17-point lead at the top over closest rivals Atletico Madrid, who were held to a goalless draw by Granada earlier on Wednesday.

Barcelona in third and fourth-placed Sevilla are a point further back and both play on Thursday.

Real need just four more points from their last five games to be sure of the title.

Alaba opened the scoring in the 12th minute, finishing with a close-range strike following a free kick but Osasuna equalised two minutes later as Ante Budimir scored after a counter-attack.

Asensio was in the right place at the right time to strike home a rebound from a Dani Ceballos shot inside the six-yard box.

Benzema wasted two great opportunities to extend Real’s lead, missing two penalties in less than five minutes in the second half, with both saved by goalkeeper Sergio Herrera.

It was not until the last move of the game when Real sealed the deal with Vazquez finishing a counter attack led by substitute Vinicius Jr.

(Reporting by Fernando Kallas Editing by Toby Davis)

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