Barca close in on title, Benzema on Lewy

As predicted, both Real Madrid and Barcelona lived up to their reputation and comprehensively won their respective home matches on Saturday.

Real beat Almeria 4-2 to cut the gap to eight points before Barca thrashed 10-man Real Betis 4-0 to tighten their grip on top spot and moved a step closer to their 27th LaLiga title with 11-point advantage.

However, another battle has been heating up after completion of the 32nd round of matches as Karim Benzema climbed to 17 goals in La Liga this season with his treble, now two behind Robert Lewandowski.

Barca's Polish striker leads the way for the Pichichi Trophy, a notable personal honour by leading sports newspaper Marca for a leading La Liga goalscorer, but faces stiff competition for the title this year.

With his goal against Real Betis, Lewandowski has now 19 goals after scoring the opening goal against Real Betis. The Pole has scored in two consecutive games, against Rayo and Betis, and has regained some momentum after a poor run of form in front of goal.

PHOTOS: REUTERS/twitter

Benzema's goalscoring comeback, however, has him closing in on Lewandowski, who has been the outright leader for much of the campaign. The Frenchman, who has been hampered by injuries, scored two hat-tricks in recent matches, the first coming against Real Valladolid and the one against Almeria at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.

Benzema is set to play the remaining matches against Real Sociedad, Getafe, Valencia, Rayo Vallecano, Sevilla and Athletic Club while Lewandowski have fixtures against Osasuna, Espanyol, Real Sociedad, Valladolid, Mallorca and Celta Vigo.