• Real Madrid's Karim Benzema celebrates his second goal against Valencia at the Alfredo di Stefano stadium. AFP
    Real Madrid's Karim Benzema celebrates his second goal against Valencia at the Alfredo di Stefano stadium. AFP
  • Real Madrid's Karim Benzema, left, celebrates with his teammates after scoring his side's third goal against Valencia on Thursday. AP
    Real Madrid's Karim Benzema, left, celebrates with his teammates after scoring his side's third goal against Valencia on Thursday. AP
  • Real Madrid's Karim Benzema, left, scores his side's opening goal at the Alfredo di Stefano stadium. AP
    Real Madrid's Karim Benzema, left, scores his side's opening goal at the Alfredo di Stefano stadium. AP
  • Real Madrid's striker Karim Benzema celebrates after scoring the third goal against Valencia. EPA
    Real Madrid's striker Karim Benzema celebrates after scoring the third goal against Valencia. EPA
  • Real Madrid's Marco Asensio also scored against Valencia on Thursday. AFP
    Real Madrid's Marco Asensio also scored against Valencia on Thursday. AFP
  • Real Madrid's Marco Asensio, left, celebrates with Karim Benzema and Ferland Mendy after scoring against Valencia. EPA
    Real Madrid's Marco Asensio, left, celebrates with Karim Benzema and Ferland Mendy after scoring against Valencia. EPA
  • Real Madrid's Marco Asensio, left, celebrates with his teammate Ferland Mendy after scoring at the Alfredo di Stefano stadium. AP
    Real Madrid's Marco Asensio, left, celebrates with his teammate Ferland Mendy after scoring at the Alfredo di Stefano stadium. AP
  • Real Madrid's forward Eden Hazard tackles Valencia's Hugo Guillamon. EPA
    Real Madrid's forward Eden Hazard tackles Valencia's Hugo Guillamon. EPA
  • Toni Kroos of Real Madrid CF takes a free kick. Getty
    Toni Kroos of Real Madrid CF takes a free kick. Getty
  • Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos vies with Valencia's Eliaquim Mangala. AFP
    Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos vies with Valencia's Eliaquim Mangala. AFP
  • Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos vies with Valencia's Eliaquim Mangala. AFP
    Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos vies with Valencia's Eliaquim Mangala. AFP
  • Lee Kang-In of Valencia is shown a red card by referee Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez. Getty
    Lee Kang-In of Valencia is shown a red card by referee Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez. Getty
  • Real Madrid's defender Raphael Varane in action at the Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium. EPA
    Real Madrid's defender Raphael Varane in action at the Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium. EPA

Karim Benzema's dream goal and Marco Asensio's memorable return power Real Madrid - in pictures


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Real Madrid's Karim Benzema scored one of the goals of the season as they defeated Valencia 3-0 at home to stay in touch with La Liga leaders Barcelona.

The win took Real to 62 points after 29 games, two behind leaders Barcelona who beat Leganes 2-0 on Tuesday.

Benzema fired into the bottom corner to give Real the lead on the hour mark after inspired play by Eden Hazard, who fashioned a one-two with Luka Modric before sliding to the ground to nudge the ball into the path of the French striker.

Marco Asensio scored with his first touch since injuring his knee 11 months ago to double Real's lead in the 74th minute.

Benzema rounded off the win with a fine volley which he set up by receiving the ball in the air, flicking it from his right foot to his left and sending it flying into the top corner.

Valencia looked to have taken the lead when Rodrigo Moreno netted in the 20th minute but long after the players had celebrated the goal it was chalked off for offside against Maxi Gomez, even though the striker had not touched the ball.

The visitors faded in the second half after causing Real problems in the first and their frustrations deepened after the third goal when teenage midfielder Kang-In Lee was shown a straight red card for hacking at Sergio Ramos.

Rodrigo had struck the post before his disallowed goal while Geoffrey Kondogbia was denied by Real keeper Thibaut Courtois at the end of a frantic first half.

"We started well but after that Valencia grew into the game and we knew we had to change something and push higher up the pitch, that's what we did and we won the game," Asensio was quoted as saying by Reuters.

"I feel a lot of emotion and satisfaction but there was a lot of work behind this goal but the most important thing is that we won and I'm here for the rest of the season."

RESULTS

6.30pm Handicap (TB) $68,000 (Dirt) 1,200m

Winner Canvassed, Par Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer)

7.05pm Meydan Cup – Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (Turf) 2,810m

Winner Dubai Future, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor

7.40pm UAE 2000 Guineas – Group 3 (TB) $125,000 (D) 1,600m

Winner Mouheeb, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard

8.15pm Firebreak Stakes – Group 3 (TB) $130,000 (D) 1,600m

Winner Secret Ambition, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar

9.50pm Meydan Classic – Conditions (TB) $$50,000 (T) 1,400m

Winner Topper Bill, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar

9.25pm Dubai Sprint – Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (T) 1,200m

Winner Man Of Promise, William Buick, Charlie Appleby

Employment lawyer Meriel Schindler of Withers Worldwide shares her tips on achieving equal pay
 
Do your homework
Make sure that you are being offered a fair salary. There is lots of industry data available, and you can always talk to people who have come out of the organisation. Where I see people coming a cropper is where they haven’t done their homework.
 
Don’t be afraid to negotiate

It’s quite standard to negotiate if you think an offer is on the low side. The job is unlikely to be withdrawn if you ask for money, and if that did happen I’d question whether you want to work for an employer who is so hypersensitive.
 
Know your worth
Women tend to be a bit more reticent to talk about their achievements. In my experience they need to have more confidence in their own abilities – men will big up what they’ve done to get a pay rise, and to compete women need to turn up the volume.
 
Work together
If you suspect men in your organisation are being paid more, look your boss in the eye and say, “I want you to assure me that I’m paid equivalent to my peers”. If you’re not getting a straight answer, talk to your peer group and consider taking direct action to fix inequality.

'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'

Rating: 1 out of 4

Running time: 81 minutes

Director: David Blue Garcia

Starring: Sarah Yarkin, Elsie Fisher, Mark Burnham