La Liga: Real Madrid beat Valencia 2-0 to register third consecutive victory

Los Blancos are now five points behind leaders Atletico Madrid and crucially, have two games in hand.

Real Madrid players celebrate after scoring the second goal against Valencia on Sunday- AP

Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos were on target in the first half as Real Madrid easily beat a listless Valencia side 2-0 at home on Sunday to make it three wins in a row in La Liga.

Benzema got Zinedine Zidane's side off to a strong start in the 12th minute when he collected a pass from Kroos on the edge of the area and had enough time and space to pick his shot and fire into the far bottom corner.

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Kroos, who missed Tuesday's win over Getafe through suspension, doubled their lead shortly before halftime, finishing off a flowing move by driving a first-time shot low into the net from the edge of the area.

The victory took Real back into second place on 49 points, five behind leaders Atletico Madrid who beat Granada 2-1 on Saturday and have two games in hand. Valencia are 12th on 24.