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Real Madrid eventually overpowered Espanyol on Saturday afternoon to record a 3-1 victory in La Liga.
Joselu’s thunderous finish had given the Catalan visitors an early lead but Vinicius Junior dragged his side level with a smart effort before Eder Militao headed them into the lead.
Substitute Marco Asensio struck Los Blancos’ third in second-half stoppage time, bringing the gap between Carlo Ancelotti’s side and league leaders Barcelona to six points before Barça’s trip to Athletic Club on Sunday.
Here’s their upcoming fixture list with Champions League and Clasico games to navigate.
Real Madrid have a job to finish in the Champions League last 16 against Liverpool. Los Blancos hammered the Reds 5-2 at Anfield and that sizable advantage should be enough to see them into the quarter-finals.
Real have the wood over Liverpool in modern times, being unbeaten in the last seven competitive fixtures.
After that second leg, Real make the trip to Catalonia to face Clasico rivals Barcelona.
It’s a massive opportunity for Real to make up some ground on their rivals during the title run-in. Barça haven’t won La Liga since 2019 and a number of their young players haven’t been in a tight title race.
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This is a fixture Los Blancos have enjoyed in recent times. They’re unbeaten in the last 14 meetings, winning 12, and haven’t conceded a goal in the last four matches.
Valladolid have endured quite a barren first quarter of 2023 but have at least beaten Espanyol, Real Sociedad and Valencia in recent times
Real Madrid will be keen not to give their Copa del Rey participation up too easily but face a tall order to overturn a 1-0 deficit and reach the final.
Real do have a strong recent record against Barcelona at Camp Nou, however, having not lost there since a 5-1 defeat in 2018.
Los Blancos have some demons to exorcise when they host Villarreal, having lost the return fixture 2-1 in January.
Karim Benzema got on the scoresheet with a penalty but strikes from Yeremy Pino and Gerard Moreno earned victory for Quique Setien’s side.
Real will hope to have closed the gap on Barça by the time they travel to Andalusia to face Cadiz in mid April.
Cadiz have done well to remain in the Spanish top flight since their promotion in 2020 but haven’t beaten Real since 1991, when a Jose Gonzalez goal beat a Blancos side managed by Alfredo di Stefano.