Real Madrid vs Granada: Dec 2, 2023 Match Recap and Analysis

Real Madrid pulled off a solid victory over Granada with a 2-0 win in LaLiga, leaving the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium crowd unimpressed on a chilly evening in the Spanish capital.

The win propels Madrid to the top of the LaLiga standings with 38 points, surpassing Girona, who beat Valencia 2-1 earlier in the day, on goal difference.

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Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, currently third and fourth with 31 points, are set to face each other on Sunday.

Despite missing several regular starters due to injuries, Madrid managed to dominate the game against Granada, who are second from bottom on seven points with only one win in 15 games.

The hosts had an impressive 71% ball possession and restricted Granada from making any attempts on goal.

Madrid seized the lead in the 26th minute when Brahim Díaz and Toni Kroos executed a clever one-two play, with Díaz breaking the offside trap and striking past goalkeeper Raúl Fernández to open the scoring.

Díaz commented on Kroos’ pass, stating, “It was a magic pass from Toni. He sees what nobody else does. I’m really happy to help the team however I can. If it’s opening the scoring, even better. I’m really happy, above all with the game we played. We dominated the game. And personally, I’m happy to score and create the chance that Rodrygo scored.”

The match saw minimal action until the 57th minute when Díaz crossed to Jude Bellingham, who was denied by Fernandez, but Rodrygo capitalized on the rebound to double Madrid’s lead. This marked Rodrygo’s fifth consecutive game with a goal, accumulating seven goals and four assists in total.

Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti praised Rodrygo’s performance, stating, “He’s back to his best level, scoring a lot of goals.”

ESPN’s Alex Kirkland contributed to this report.