Zidane heaps praise on Hazard and Benzema after win against Valencia

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has praised two players after his side defeated resilient Valencia 3-0 on Thursday night.

The Los Blancos continue to maintain the two points gap between them and Barcelona who are on top of the La Liga table,after their 2-0 Win against Leganes.

Benzema who got the first goal from a fine assist from Eden Hazard got his second goal with four minutes remaining – rifling a volley past Valencia goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen. 

Meanwhile Marco Asensio came off the bench to grab the second goal with his first touch, he played is first game since he suffered long term injury since last year July.

Benzema's two-goal display in the Spanish capital took his tally to 243 goals for Madrid across all competitions, leapfrogging club great Puskas (242) for fifth on the all-time list.

"It was a great goal, for the move and the finish – I'm delighted for Karim's goals," Zidane said after Madrid moved back within two points of leaders and rivals Barcelona.

"This was a really good game from Hazard," Zidane added. "Physically, he was good and played 80 minutes. Sometimes you might think he's starting to look tired, but then he picks up the ball and sprints away."