Madrid: Real Madrid earned a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Granada, and walked into the Christmas break with three points from the Alfredo Di Stefano stadium on Thrusday (December 24). The reigning champions’ slow start to the season eventually led to the fifth win in a row in La Liga for Zinedine Zidane’s side.
The Los Blancos dominated most part of the game in the opening 45 minutes but were unable to find the back of the net. Rodrygo was stretchered off with an injury in the 38th minute and Marco Asensio replaced him. The scoreline was a goalless one for the first half.
However, the hosts took the lead after the game resumed on 57 minutes when Casemiro headed home from close range from a ball delivered into the area by Asensio. Karim Benzema doubled the lead for his team in second-half stoppage time when a shot was cut across the top of the penalty area and a left-footed shot was fired across the goal by him.
After the match, Zidane said, “It was a really difficult game. We knew it would be tough. They pressed us high, we didn’t bring the ball out well in the first half. The second half was much better. They’re six games in a row now, that isn’t easy… We’ve beaten a good team, that have got a lot of good results. We have to be happy, thanks to the players.”
“We’ll keep working hard. There are a lot of games,” Zidane further added. “We have to be happy, they’re six wins in a row. We’ll keep going, that’s all I ask of the players. They’ll have two or three days with their families and then back to work again,” he added.
With this victory, Zidane’s side went six points clear of third-placed Real Sociedad and became the title contender along with their city rival.
