After Girona won their early match against Valencia, Real Madrid entered the match against Granada on the evening of December 2 with the goal of having to win to reclaim the top position in La Liga. Coach Carlo Ancelotti used a trio of strikers with Joselu, Rodrygo and Brahim Diaz playing in the attack.
Diaz (21) opened the scoring quite early for Real Madrid (Photo: AP).
Midfielder Bellingham continued to play the role of conductor in the middle of the field, but he was quite lackluster in this match. Although the English star played below his best, Real Madrid still had an overwhelming match.
Coach Ancelotti's team had nearly 70% possession and completely controlled the match. On the other hand, Granada defended thoroughly and they did not even have a shot on Andriy Lunin's goal in 90 minutes.
Granada suffered a big loss of force early on when goalkeeper Andre Ferreira came on to replace Raul Fernandez due to injury in the 11th minute. Real Madrid completely dominated and that pressure caused Granada's defense to reveal gaps.
In the 26th minute, after a favorable pass from veteran Toni Kroos, the score was opened when Brahim Diaz made a smart run and finished neatly, defeating goalkeeper Andre Ferreira.
Rodrygo sealed a 2-0 victory for Real Madrid (Photo: AP).
The second half scenario did not change much, young striker Rodrygo continued his scoring streak with a goal in the 57th minute, raising the score to 2-0. Real Madrid pressed the field in the remaining 30 minutes, but coach Ancelotti's team could not get a third goal.
Defeating Granada easily with a score of 2-0, Real Madrid returned to the top of La Liga, they have the same 38 points as Girona but "Los Blancos" have a better secondary index. At 03:00 on December 4, Barcelona will face Atletico in the highlight match of round 15 of La Liga at Nou Camp.
Line-up
Real Madrid : Lunin; Carvajal (Vazquez 46'), Rudiger, Alaba, Mendy; Valverde, Kroos, Bellingham; Diaz (Nicolas Paz 88'), Rodrygo (Garcia 85'), Joselu (Ceballos 70')
Goals: Diaz (26'), Rodrygo (57')
Granada : Raul (Andre Ferreira 11'); Neva, Torrente, Miquel, Manafa (Petrovic 64'), Sanchez; Martinez (Alvaro Fernandez 83'), Ruiz, Gumbau, Uzuni (Weissman 64'); Boye (Puertas 83')
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