Real Madrid vs Almería, summary: Rodrygo goal, Benzema hat trick, score, goals & highlights | LaLiga Santander 22/23

That's all, folks!

Thanks for following the live coverage of Real Madrid 4-2 Almería in LaLiga Santander. Make sure to check out en.as.com for all the latest news on sport around the world.

Joe

And that's all!

The referee blows the final whistle and Madrid take the three points!

A few feisty challenges come in during the final minutes as the energy levels are still there.

Asensio goes close from distance... off the post again!

Almería continue to bail water as Madrid keep attacking; I'm not sure they're going to stop when the referee blows the final whistle.

4 minutes added.

ASENSIO OFF THE POST!

He was fed away down the right and slid a low shot to the near side of the goal that hit the woodwork.

Camavinga played a one-two with Lucas on the left but the pass to the full-back was just too late and that meant Camavinga's lovely header from the return ball doesn't count.

OFFISDE!

NO GOAL

Los Blancos are looking for more goals; Benzema almost turns provider as he lofts a ball above the Almería defence, but Asensio can't get his head on the cross.

Camavinga slipped the ball down the right with a lovely back heeled pass, and Benzema smacked a shot from the edge of the box that thumped the far post!

BENZEMA OFF THE POST!!

Carvajal finds space on the right but his cross is poor and Benzema raises his hands to his head: he was alone on the edge of the 6-yard box.

Carvajal ON

Vini Jr OFF

Vinicius has gone straight down the tunnel...

The striker tripped Ely before going down himself from Fernando's lunge. The correct decision.

And it's a foul from Benzema!

No penalty!

Señor referee is going to the screen!

VAR are taking a long look...

It looked like a foul from Benzema on Ely in the buildup as the long ball was fired over towards the striker, but Fernando's challenge was mis-timed on Benzema and is a penalty.

PENALTY TO MADRID!

BENZEMA WAS TRIPPED BY FERNANDO!

Robertone, who has played well since he has come on, dives in to stop a Vinicius cross from reaching Benzema.

Meanwhile, Madrid are still looking for more goals, and continue to push Almería back towards their own goal.

A long range shot from Asensio is saved by Fernando.

Vinicius is asking to be substituted as Rodrygo sits on the bench with ice on his leg.

Samu and Akieme OFF

Centelles and Melero ON

Camavinga booked after a late challenge on Robertone.

Vinicius tries an outrageous rainbow flick against Robertone, and he almost gets away with it, but the Almería man does well to stop the winger with a challenge in the last second.

Real Madrid make subs:

Asensio and Nacho ON

Kroos and Rodrygo OFF

Ceballos punches the floor in pain after Mendes stands on his ankle. That was a nasty one.

You can watch a live stream of the game on fuboTV (free trial available).

Asensio is getting ready to come on.

I don't want to worry you, but Vinicius is not OK. He's touching his knee and isn't walking properly...

Mendes is booked for smashing his shoulder into Vinicius' face as the winger tried to skip past the opponent.

Benzema received the ball with his back to goal on the edge of the box. He spun his leg around and flicked the ball right to Rodrygo, who was not spotted by any of the Almería defenders. 

The winger went for a chipped effort inside the box but Fernando stuck a long arm in the air to stop Madrid getting goal number five.

WHAT A HUGE CHANCE FOR RODRYGO!

HE COULD HAVE THREE!

A huge save from the goalkeeper!

Almería move again:

Ramazani OFF

Suárez ON

OFFSIDE!

Rodrygo's header flies past Fernando and into the net, but the Brazilian was offside as the ball from Lucas came in.

Kroos makes a mistake in the buildup, playing a poor pass to Camavinga inside the box. 

Portillo nips in to cut out the weak effort and sweeps in a cross from the right that Robertone heads past Courtois. Ancelotti is not happy.

Los Blancos absolutely tear through Almería with a robbery in midfield. They attack like jet fighters, playing one-touch passes between Ceballos, Kroos and Benzema, who lays off for Vini to speed away down the left.

The winger plays a delightful ball across the box but nobody can get on the end of the pass.

HUGE CHANCE FOR MADRID

Almería make a change...

De la Hoz OFF

Robertone ON

Almería are squashed into their box like a bag of marshmallows: Madrid are toying with them, zipping the ball from right to left and back again on the edge of the box, tempting one sorry soul to step out of place and open the structure.

Madrid continue to push with Ceballos on the right and Rodrygo on the left, who both make in roads towards goal before seeing their attempts at crosses fly wide.

Ramazani makes his way down Madrid's right side, skipping past Rüdiger before hitting a shot into the stands from inside the box.

The striker has been feeding on scraps, but has performed reasonably well with the little that he has seen.

Rodrygo received the ball on the edge of the box and was given time to take a touch, turn and fire a rifled effort into the top corner of the goal to send the Bernabéu crowd into shock.

Fernando dived but it was a token effort to stop the ball that was laser-guided into the roof of the net.

WHAT A STRIKE FROM THE BRAZILIAN FORWARD

The structures from both teams is the same as in the first half, and Madrid already have the ball and are looking to find ways through the block.

No changes at half-time from either side.

And we're off!

Almería get us underway for the second half.

Here's what Rodrygo did to Samu:

Let your imagination do the rest, but it won't be as good as what actually happened.

*236... Benzema moves up to 4th place!

In the list of all-time top scorers in LaLiga. What an achievement.

Three hat-tricks in one month

Karim the Dream is coming into form at the right moment for Madrid.

Half time:

The late Almería goal will anger Ancelotti but Madrid can be happy with 44 minutes of the game, where they did not allow the away side to breathe for a single second. 

Karim has been the man to finish the chances but the whole side has performed well to give Los Blancos their advantage on the scoreboard. Rodrygo has shone and showed his class, and Ceballos has managed to run the show from the middle of the pitch. 

Almería's Samu has been involved in some hefty challenges which show a level of frustration from Rubi's side who simply hadn't had a sniff of the ball until Madrid fell asleep for their goal.

And that's all for now!

Ramazani was given time and space by Militão to turn and play a simple pass across the face of goal to Lázaro, who snuck in behind the sleepy Madrid defence to tap in and cut the deficit!

One minute added time.

Madrid want more goals: every midfielder is managing to find space between the lines and allow Vinicius and Rodrygo to burst into space on the wings. 

Benzema sends the goalkeeper the wrong way as he rolls the ball calmly to his right and that's his second first half hat-trick of the season!

Lucas was tripped by Ramazani on the right side of the box... a silly foul and an easy call for the referee.

PENALTY TO MADRID!

Chance for Madrid!

Rodrygo received the ball inside the box from a Vinicius cross but his Guti-esque flick was not anticipated by anyone in a white shirt and Almería manage to clear the ball.

Portillo has a shot from distance that flies just wide after Madrid make a mess in buildup; the Bernabéu responds with whistles. 

And now Vinicius has been booked for his reaction to being fouled; he misses Madrid's next game against La Real.

Tchouaméni is tripped by De la Hoz... and the referee gives a free-kick to Almería. I don't know why.

Rüdiger covers brilliantly to clear the ball after a loose pass almost saw Lázaro in behind. From one to eleven, everyone is switched on in a white shirt tonight.

Ah, no. The referee has given a goal kick. Incorrect, but we move on.

Vinicius breaks away twice in 30 seconds and his second bite of the cherry is poked out for a corner by a grateful Chumi.

Benzema's headed effort is ruled out for offside after the Frenchman was in an illegal position when the long ball came into the box. 

Madrid are in total control of the game; Almeria are yet to have a sniff of possession.

Samu (the player who tried to push Rodrygo into the next dimension before the second goal), shoves Ceballos over on the right side. He's an angry Portuguese man today.

Madrid's next attack ends as Lucas sees his cross from the right blocked out for a corner. Vini and Ceballos both had chances to shoot in what could get messy if Almería drop another percentage in the concentration levels.

Ramazani heads wide after a good ball over the top from Portillo. Twenty-six minutes gone and that was Almería's first real chance.

The game is a boxing match in which Real Madrid arms have simply been longer: they're throwing punches on Almería's nose and the away side can't even straighten themselves long enough to think about fighting back. 

Almería are very happy to sit in their low block, but Madrid are finding plenty of ways to play through the lines and work their way towards goal.

Ceballos, Rodrygo and Benzema are all enjoying themselves on the right side.

We're back underway and the majority of fans are now back on their seats after falling off from Rodrygo's brilliance.

Rodrygo receives the ball on the right side of the pitch and goes to take on Samu, who tries to shove him over with all his might. 

The Brazilian rides the challenge on the right side of the box, taking the ball to the byline. The shove from the midfielder forces Rodrygo to almost fall over, but instead he rolls the ball round one side of Samu, uses the momentum to spin around him, and leaves his opponent scrambling for something to grab onto. 

The winger then slides the ball into Benzema to finish with ease and double Madrid's lead after 18 minutes.

A great goal from Benzema... but what did you do, Rodrygo?!

Almería haven't had a chance to play the ball around, just yet. Madrid's press has been great from the players in the front line and every time they break through the midfield, Militão is there to step out and stop the run.

Kroos' effort flies over everyone. I suppose he's allowed one bad pass per season.

The free-kick comes to nothing, but Ceballos gets fouled again, this time down the right.

Ceballos goes down on the edge of the box after being tripped by Samu. It looked like a painful challenge on the back of his leg, but he is OK to carry on.

Rodrygo and Kroos are over the ball.

Real Madrid, thanks to their press, are causing Almería to lose the ball high up the pitch. Ancelotti will (probably) be happier with this start than anything he saw against Girona.

Chance for Madrid!

Benzema and Vinicius link up superbly well in the box, with Vini flicking the ball back to his teammate, setting Benzema up for the shot that is saved.

Almería come close with Ramazani, who finds space on the left before rifling a shot into the stands.

Ancelotti responds by screaming at Rodrygo.

Vinicius beats Mendes down the left, with the full-back putting in a terrible challenge to try and stop him. 

The Brazilian finds himself in acres of space down the wing and his low cross is tapped in by the Frenchman, who is now just three goals from Lewandowski.

BENZEMA STRIKES EARLY TO GIVE MADRID A DREAM START

Vini skips left then right before whipping in a dangerous cross that is met by Benzema, but his weak shot (with his knee) ends up in Fernando's hands.

CHANCE FOR MADRID!

The home side are pushing Almería back, and it's Ceballos who puts the first ball in towards Benzema, who sees his header defelcted wide. 

Both sides start the game with passes that go astray; Almería are battling Madrid's typical 4-3-3 with a 4-4-2 mid-block.

We had a short delay there as the Madrid club doctor came to wrap Camavinga's hand in a bandage.

And we're off!

Real Madrid get us going from left to right.

The home side are in all white; Almería are in all black. 

A final reminder of the teams:

Real Madrid: Coutrois; Lucas V, Rüdiger, Militão, Camavinga; Kroos, Tchouaméni, Ceballos; Vini Jr, Benzema, Rodrygo

Almería: Fernando; Akieme, Ely, Chumi, Mendes; Samu, De La Hoz, Portillo; Lázaro, Ramazani, Puigmal

A big, friendly handshake between Carlo Ancelotti and Rubi. I don't predict a riot today.

The players are in the tunnel and ready to go!

Will it be Karim's night in front of goal?

 A huge applause from the crowd for Karim Benzema as he makes his way down the tunnel for the final preparations. The Frenchman has 4 goals and 6 assists in 8 games, and participates in a goal every 50 minutes.

LALIGA

Real Madrid vs Almería: times, how to watch on TV, stream online | LaLiga

Don't forget that you can watch a live stream of today's game on fuboTV (free trial available).

Warmups underway

The players are all out on the pitch and will be for the next 5-10 minutes until the time comes for the team talks.

As they train, the Bernabéu's blue seats fill up around the ground; despite not having much to play for, the Madrid fans are still out in full force for their side.

A reminder of the starting XIs:

Real Madrid: Coutrois; Lucas V, Rüdiger, Militão, Camavinga; Kroos, Tchouaméni, Ceballos; Vini Jr, Benzema, Rodrygo

Almería: Fernando; Akieme, Ely, Chumi, Mendes; Samu, De La Hoz, Portillo; Lázaro, Ramazani, Puigmal

REAL MADRID

Asensio contract talks are positive with Real Madrid: his renovation is likely

Man of the moment Marco Asensio might be in for a treat as it seems that his Real Madrid contract extension is growing closer and closer. 

The ex-Mallorca winger is happy with his role in the side and trusts Carlo Ancelotti's plans for the future; Madrid are pleased with his performances and the player will put their offer above any others from outside.

The players have arrived at the stadium

The warmups are underway and there are serious faces all round from Los Blancos; Ancelotti has been very stern this week when talking to the press, saying that what happened against Girona won't happen tonight.

Vinicius starts again!

Perhaps surprisingly, given the recent injuries to the Madrid squad, Vini Jr is in Carlo's starting XI for the game today.

Here are his Opta stats from the season, showing just what a magnificent campaign the Brazilian has had so far.

LALIGA

Real Madrid vs Almería: times, how to watch on TV, stream online | LaLiga

Here's all the information on how to watch Real Madrid take on Almería in LaLiga today!

Remember, you can watch a live stream of the game on fuboTV (free trial available).

Here's the Almería starting XI!

The big surprise is that Suárez, who I just spent 5 minutes praising, starts on the bench at the Bernabéu!

Taty in Team of the Week

No Real Madrid players made the Sofascore TOTW as Taty Castellanos got a perfect 10. 

Almería's Luís Suárez (not that one) accompanies him with a rating of 8.8, making him the third highest player in the XI. The striker, on loan from Marseille, scored two goals against Getafe which gave his side a vital three points in their fight for survival. 

Carlo Ancelotti, pre-match press conference

The calm before the storm...

And it might just rain today, as those ominous-looking clouds seem to suggest. 

Real Madrid's stadium is all set for an interesting game in which the home side will be looking to regain their positive momentum after a disappointing performance last time out in the league. 

Quick-fire stats:

Real Madrid last lost to Almería in 2008, and have never lost at home to the Andalucian side. In fact, Almería have only won once in 22 trips to the province of Madrid, against Getafe.

REAL MADRID

Karim Benzema has seven games left to win the LaLiga top scorer ‘pichichi’ award

With Benzema starting, that means he has the chance to get close Bobby Lewandowski as LaLiga's top scorer. There are just seven games to go and Benzema is firing: he even has a better goals-per-game record than the Pole.

Real Madrid starting XI:

Camavinga keeps his place at left-back as Ceballos takes the place of Luka Modric in midfield. 

Vinicius in the spotlight (again):

It seems that poor Vini hasn't had a moment to breathe this season, and Carlo Ancelotti recognised that fact in his most recent press conference:

We are worried [about Vinicius getting injured], of course. He tries to dribble and take people on and the only way to protect this type of player is by justice. Only with justice can bad things be prevented from happening. But it's obvious that he gets kicked a lot. He's lucky he's physically very good and he can put up with it."

REAL MADRID

Real Madrid’s possible line-up for today’s LaLiga matchday-32 game vs Almería

Before Carlo announces his lineup 15 hours early, as per usual, here's our best guess at what he'll do. Rotations are expected, with huge fixtures on the horizon for Los Blancos, and the injury to Luka has reminded everyone that Madrid's men are not actually made of metal.

LALIGA

How could an injury to Luka Modric affect Dani Ceballos’ future at Real Madrid?

Luka Modric's injury is an unwelcome tornado to Madrid's carefully calculated house of cards, scattering their plans all over the place and forcing Ancelotti into late-season thought experiments. 

Will Dani Ceballos be the man to step in for Madrid in Modric's absence? Here's a piece explaining how the Croatian's Iron Man hamstrings could affect the contract of the Spaniard.

Real Madrid team news:

Courtois returns to the team after resting against Girona, a game that Madrid lost 4-2 thanks to a Taty Castellanos masterclass. 

However, the huge news is that Luka Modric has suffered an injury and is now a doubt for both the Copa del Rey final and the Champions League semi-final against Manchester City.

As for Almería...

Things are definitely not over. They are just 2 points from safety and their first away win of the season (yes, really) came last time out against Getafe.

A result today, anything other than a loss, would come as a huge boost for Rubi's side. 

Is it over? Are we allowed to say it's over?

While there are games and points to go, we cannot definitively say that the league is over, but you can perhaps whisper it to yourself in a quiet room.

Barcelona's 11-point lead is a big hop, skip and jump for Madrid to make this late on and it would take a catastrophe of objectively hilarious proportions for Xavi's side to slip up now.

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to the AS USA live coverage of Real Madrid vs Almería in LaLiga Santander.

It's Joe here to talk you through the game at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in what promises to be an intriguing affair.