Ancelotti gamble pays off as Real Madrid rally for win at Espanyol thanks to Benzema brace

Carlo Ancelotti emerged with a sense of personal satisfaction after Karim Benzema's two late goals secured a 3-1 victory for Real Madrid at Espanyol.

The head coach saw his substitutes succeed in the final stages of the match to pave the way for Benzema's heroism.

Regarded as a humble man, this time Ancelotti was happy to take credit for the decisions that saw him shuffle his Madrid pack in the second half of a hard-fought game.

He knocked out Luka Modric and Federico Valverde in the 58th minute, introducing Eduardo Camavinga and Rodrygo, before replacing Toni Kroos with Dani Ceballos.

Camavinga brought new dynamism to the Madrid midfield, Rodrygo scored Benzema's first goal in the 88th minute and Ceballos was fouled for the free kick which led to a red card and the goal decisive of Benzema.

That last goal of the game came 10 minutes into stoppage time, after a marathon delay for VAR to resolve the moment home goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte snapped Ceballos. Lecomte was sent off and local captain Leandro Cabrera, a defender, took over in goal, Benzema taking advantage by firing home from a set piece.

“We won the match thanks to this energy. That of Camavinga, Rodrygo or Ceballos,” Ancelotti said. “The game was slow and we changed it. Each game has its own story."

He said it was impossible to know how the game would have gone if he had lined up his substitutes from the start, allowing Modric and Kroos to step in and change the game in the second half.

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"Sometimes selecting a team is a gamble and today I think the Real Madrid coach played well."

The veteran Italian manager says Madrid started well, as evidenced by the sudden move that prompted Vinicius Junior's first goal.

Former Madrid reserve striker Joselu equalized with his seventh goal in nine La Liga appearances against Los Blancos, before Benzema's brace provided the finishing touch.

Three days after winning the UEFA Men's Player of the Year award, Benzema has shown why he deserves such accolades at this stage of his career. He turns 35 in December, but shows no signs of slowing down.

Benzema has scored 28 goals for Madrid in 2022 in all competitions, the joint record for any player in Europe's top five leagues. That puts him alongside Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe, who snubbed a move to Madrid in favor of signing a new contract with PSG in May.

In all, Benzema has taken eight shots, the most of any player in a single game in the opening weeks of the LaLiga season.

The late show put some salt on Espanyol's injuries, with the Barcelona side having failed to win in their last 10 league matches, dating back to last season.

Kroos told Movistar: "You have to expect us to suffer against a big rival, also away from home. We controlled the game until their goal. We suffered a bit in the second half. -time, but in the last 30 minutes we regained control.

"They looked tired and we took advantage of it. Winning away is not easy and we did it three times in a row."

Madrid's first three league assignments indeed came from the Santiago Bernabeu, while work is underway on the stadium, and wins over Almeria, Celta Vigo and now Espanyol have made it an ideal start .

Madrid top the table but are joined on nine points by Real Betis, the team they will host next Saturday.

Kroos says Madrid are preparing for a busy series of games as the Champions League group stage begins.

He said, "Every three or four days we are going to play against tough opponents and there are always times when we are going to have to suffer."