Real move top, Milan teams frustrated

Real Madrid enjoyed temporary respite from their European Super League humiliaton by thrashing Cadiz 3-0 on Wednesday to keep the pressure on Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga.

Three goals in 10 minutes towards the end of the first half helped Madrid go top of the table on head-to-head, above Atletico Madrid, who play at home to Huesca on Thursday.

Manchester City closed in on the Premier League title as the leaders fought back to win 2-1 at Aston Villa on Wednesday in their first match since withdrawing from the European Super League.

Serie A leaders Inter Milan were held at Spezia on Wednesday but extended their advantage to 10 points, as nearest rivals AC Milan fell to a 2-1 home defeat by Sassuolo after a chaotic few days amid the European Super League furore.

Champions Juventus moved third, just one point behind AC Milan, after beating Parma 3-1, hours after the top three were forced to backtrack on plans to join the new 12-team closed tournament.

Meanwhile, striker Mauro Icardi scored a hat-trick as Paris St Germain eased into the French Cup semi-finals with an emphatic 5-0 victory over Angers and AS Monaco joined them with a 2-0 win over 10-man Olympique Lyonnais on Wednesday.

Back to Madrid match, Karim Benzema scored twice and set up another for Alvaro Odriozola to head in at the Ramon de Carranza stadium, where any suggestion Madrid's players might be destabilised after a hugely controversial few days was dismissed.

Madrid president Florentino Perez was the only owner from the European Super League's 12 founding clubs to speak publicly about the competition following its remarkable launch on Sunday night.

And despite 10 of the 12 pulling out in the face of anger and opposition from all sides of the game, Real Madrid was still officially part of the breakaway tournament when the players kicked off on Wednesday night. La Liga sought to capitalise on the momentum towards reform, with the slogan 'Earn it! On the pitch' projected for television viewers across the stand where the virtual fans would usually be. Cadiz players wore t-shirts in the warm-up that read 'Super League? Football is for everyone'.

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane hailed forward Karim Benzema. "I'm really pleased with what he's doing."