Espanyol vs. Real Madrid: Higuain Treble Puts Los Blancos Back in La Liga Hunt

The panic at Bernabeu subsided, if only for a day, after Real Madrid downed Espanyol at Cornella-El Prat on Sunday, 4-0, behind a hat trick by Gonzalo Higuain. Seeking to get his club out of its recent doldrums and back to playing quality football near the top the La Liga table, Jose Mourinho inserted the 23-year-old Argentine striker into his starting XI and came up with fearless results.

Los Blancos had struggled to put the ball in the net in mid-September, suffering a 1-0 loss to surprise contender Levante and a 0-0 draw against Racing Santander.

Those problems have seemingly dissipated since "The Special One" bestowed a more prominent role upon "El Pipita." Higuain notched the go-ahead goal for Madrid in a 6-2 route of Rayo Vallecano at Bernabeu last weekend while starting in place of Karim Benzema.

With Benzema out of the lineup while nursing a groin strain suffered against Ajax in UEFA Champions League play earlier in the week, Higuain was given yet another chance to shine and took full advantage.

And then some. Higuain put Los Galacticos ahead in the 17th minute on a touch from Cristiano Ronaldo. He expanded the cushion to 2-0 when he parlayed a through ball from Alvaro Arbeloa into a a shot at the top left corner of the goal. Shortly after former Perequitos player Jose Callejon connected on a Ronaldo-assisted goal of his own, Higuain recaptured the spotlight with a shot through the middle to complete his personal treble on the evening.

Benzema is likely to miss Madrid's next fixture, against Real Betis on Oct. 15, all but guaranteeing Higuain at least one more start and the opportunity to assert himself as Mourinho's top striker in the process. As if Higuain's four goals in two games isn't enough to change the manager's mind, another strong showing against Betis will virtually guarantee controversy going forward.

Or so it would seem. Benzema is no slouch on the attack, having notched five goals and three assists in nine total appearances with Los Blancos this season after exploding for 26 goals and nine assists in 48 fixtures in the previous campaign.

Mourinho's moment of truth will probably have to wait until Oct. 18, when Real welcome Lyon, Benzema's former club, to Bernabeu in Champions League group play. Certainly, Benzema will want desperately to start against Les Gones, but will Mourinho oblige him in his desire? More importantly, would doing so be in the best interests of the club? And if Mourinho chooses Benzema, what becomes of Higuain?

These are all questions that The Special One will have to answer, questions that become more complicated to resolve with each passing moment of brilliance, each breathtaking goal, that Higuain puts together in Benzema's place.

In the meantime, he and his club, Benzema and Higuain included, can at least take comfort in the knowledge that they are but one point behind Barcelona and Levante for control of the league table.

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