Real Madrid beat Granada 1-0 at the Bernabeu to solidify their position atop La Liga.
Here's our assessment of Los Blancos' performance on Sunday night.
Creating chances and scoring
Real Madrid created a good number of chances in the game but failed to take most of them.
Overall, Madrid attempted 24 shots in the game, with the majority going wide off the mark. We only 11 shots on target.
Marco Asensio and Isco both came close to scoring more than once. Asensio for one created 2 big chances in the game, and missed two himself.
Rodrygo looked a bit off the pace and contributed little in the final third of the pitch.
Thankfully, it was Asensio who came to the rescue with that wonder goal.
Rating for Creating chances and scoring: 6/10
Tactics
Carlo Ancelotti surprised everyone with his line-up as he started Isco as a false 9, and ignored Jovic.
Real Madrid would have had more cutting edge in attack if someone like Bale or Hazard had started.
Also, Fede Valverde was missed in the starting XI as Camavinga struggled in our midfield. The Frenchman lost the ball 3 times. On one occasion, it almost led to a goal.
Real Madrid attacked a lot down the right (40%), with Asensio our biggest threat in the final third.
The bottom-line is, we could've won by a wider margin if Ancelotti had rested his tired players.
Rating for tactics: 3/10
Defending
Real Madrid defended well when they had to. Granada barely troubled Los Blancos for long periods as we dominated possession.
However, in one episode early in the first half, the visitors almost scored after Madrid got caught out at the back.
We can only thank Courtois for making a big save
This was one of Courtois 3 saves of the night, from Granada's 3 shots on target. It was his most difficult.
Madrid were solid at the back with Eder Milatao playing a great match. The Brazilian won 4 area duels, made one tackle, one interception and won the ball for Asensio to shoot and score.
Another clean sheet in the bag, though.
Rating for defence: 8/10
Fighting spirit
Real Madrid were on the ascendancy all game. We dominated the ball and had over 60% possession.
Granada relied on creating chances off counter-attacks but Los Blancos were there to snuff out those attempts (2).
Wining the ball in the opponent's half was something Madrid did really well - it happened 5 times in the game.
Madrid's superiority showed in the end.
Rating for fighting spirit: 8/10
