Madrid: Kaka came off the bench to score with a sublime curling shot and Karim Benzema netted twice in 11 second-half minutes to give Real Madrid a 3-0 home win over promoted Tenerife in La Liga.
After a closely-fought first half with few clear chances, France striker Benzema rose early in the second period to nod in Xabi Alonso's cross and then outmuscled defender Manuel Martinez before bending a precise shot into the far corner.
Tenerife had several openings before Brazilian playmaker Kaka, who replaced Esteban Granero at the break, beat goalkeeper Sergio Aragoneses with a stunning 77th-minute strike from the edge of the penalty area.
Real have a perfect 15 points from five matches, three ahead of champions Barcelona who visit Malaga later on Saturday (1800 GMT).
Tenerife have been dubbed Real's 'Cursed Island' by the media after twice depriving the Madrid club of the league title in the early 1990s with end-of-season wins.
The Real defence looked far from solid in the second half despite the return of Portuguese international Pepe to the starting lineup after a 10-match ban.
Forward Nino narrowly missed with a lob with Iker Casillas off his line and a mistake from the Real keeper almost let in reserve player Julian Omar but his low drive skewed off the outside of a post.
Casillas redeemed himself with a superb double save before Kaka's strike ended any hopes of a Tenerife fightback.
"Kaka coming on at the break created a lot more space for us in the second half and it was much easier," Benzema said in a radio interview.
Smart Work
Sevilla strengthened their grip on third spot, also on 12 points, by winning 4-0 at fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao.
Brazilian Renato put Sevilla ahead in the fifth minute from a free kick, striker Alvaro Negredo doubled the lead 16 minutes later after smart work from winger Diego Capel and Frederic Kanoute netted a third in first-half added time.
Athletic defender Fernando Amorebieta was dismissed for a second yellow card just after the break and winger Jesus Navas wrapped things up with a fourth in the 75th minute.
Atletico Madrid, who have two points from four games, play at Valencia in the late match (2000) with coach Abel Resino under increasing pressure to turn their troubled season around.
Bureau Report
First Published: Sunday, September 27, 2009, 08:27