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After two matches without a win and a disappointing exit from the Copa del Rey, Real Madrid finally returned to winning ways this weekend. Carlo Ancelotti’s side recorded a narrow 1-0 win over Granada despite putting up an underwhelming performance at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Los Blancos were in imperious form in the first round of the season, which saw them open up a healthy lead at the top of La Liga table. However, they’ve been limping in recent weeks.
They required penalties to beat Elche in the Copa del Rey Round of 16, drew 2-2 with Elche and were beaten 1-0 by Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey quarter-final. Despite winning against Granada on Sunday, their performance raised a lot of question marks.
Asensio bails out Blancos
With Vinicius Junior, Karim Benzema and Casemiro all unavailable, Ancelotti had to shuffle his pack for the Granada game. Eduardo Camavinga, Rodrygo, Isco and Marco Asensio were named in the starting line-up and it was the latter’s goal that won the day.
Asensio has had very limited game time this season, but he produced a moment of magic by scoring from a long-range shot with 16 minutes left. Without many first-choice players, the Blancos struggled in attack and were restricted to possession without purpose. But Asensio bailed them out with a special goal.
Real Madrid still unconvincing
Ancelotti was the first to admit that his side were not convincing against Granada. Los Blancos allowed their opponents to get the better of them in the opening 30 minutes and were lucky not to get punished for it.
Real Madrid are six points clear at the top of La Liga and 15 points ahead of rivals Barcelona, which puts them in a pretty comfortable situation, but they seriously need to improve.
"The best news of tonight are the three points. We played a very good second half. The team and the players performed,” Ancelotti said after the game, as quoted by Marca.
"We all know right now we are not in our best moment, but I think it is going to end soon, as per next week we are recovering important players, so we can prepare the next match.
"The reaction of the players that started and the ones coming from the bench was very good to help the team.”
Real Madrid won this time but they are still far from their best. And if things don’t change, they might drop more points in the coming weeks.
