Karim Benzema buried his World Cup nightmare after scoring a brace as Real Madrid defeated Real Valladolid 2-0 to go top of Spain’s La Liga.

Benzema, who won the Ballon d’Or, was picked to play for France at the World Cup in Qatar. However, he hurt his thigh in training and had to drop out before the first game.

He then said he was done with international soccer after the tournament, where France came in second to Argentina.

He scored his first goals since October 19 when Real beat Elche on Friday.

But he had to wait until the 83rd minute for his first goal, which came from a penalty after Javi Sanchez was called for handball.

Sergio Leon of Valladolid got a red card, which helped Benzema score his second goal of the night six minutes later. Eduardo Camavinga set him up with a pass.

With the win, Real moved ahead of Barcelona by one point, but Barcelona can take the top spot back on Saturday when they play city rivals Espanyol.

“Karim saved the game for us,” said Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

“He is fine, he lacked a bit of rhythm. Last year, he would have scored one or two more goals.”

Photo by EPA/R. Garcia