Real Madrid sneak 1-0 win against Granada at the Bernabeu

Benzema has now scored in 2 consecutive La Liga game

Real Madrid earned a 1-0 win over Granada on the back of a Karim Benzema goal as they temporarily move to the top of the La Liga table with Barcelona yet to play. While much was made of the game to be the Ronaldo show, the Portuguese striker had no telling effect after having scored 8 goals in 2 games before, 5 in the La Liga and 3 in the Champions League.

The Granada side worried the Real Madrid defence early in the game, constantly moving forward without fear and looking to capitalise on the absence of their captain Sergio Ramos who dislocate his shoulder ahead of the game. In fact, the away side did strike in the first half but the goal was disallowed for offside, however, replays showed that it might not have been the fairest of decisions for Granada.

Lineups

Real Madrid XI: Navas, Carvajal, Pepe, Varane, Marcelo, Kroos, Modric, Isco, Vazquez, Ronaldo, Benzema

Subs: Kiko Casilla, Nacho, Arbeloa, Casemiro, Kovacic, Cheryshev, Jese

Granada XI: Real Madrid: Andrés; Miguel Lopes, Doria, Lombán, Biravhi; Krhin, Márquez; Success, Rochina, Édgar; El-Arabi

Ronaldo has to wait for record

The result means that Keylor Navas now has the record of keeping 4 clean sheets in all of Real Madrid’s league games so far (joint record). It’s a club record that has stood since 1975-76 but the Costa Rican keeper who was only supposed to be a stand-in is the man with his name next to the mark.

Real Madrid currently have a bit of an injury crisis with key faces apart from Ramos missing. The likes of Danilo, James Rodriguez, and Gareth Bale missing for the all Whites means that Benitez will have to look for other stars in his galaxy of choices. It’s not the ideal situation for the new Real boss but he seems to have the personnel to manage the situation.

4- Navas has matched M.Angel's record for Real Madrid (1975) keeping clean sheets in the opening 4 league games. Wall pic.twitter.com/gGTHvS5BYM

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) September 19, 2015

.@Benzema's second-half header gives @LaLiga leaders @realmadrid a fourth win on the bounce in all competitions. #UCL pic.twitter.com/2UkepkJo6p

— Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) September 19, 2015

The onus was firmly on Real’s Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo who was only a hattrick away from breaking Raul’s record as top goalscorer for Real Madrid in all competitions. It’s one he seems destined to break sooner rather than later, it was a bit surprising that he didn’t get on the scoresheet on the day, especially since he scored 5 in the same fixture earlier in the year.

The game was one that didn’t produce many big moments but a few decisive ones and produced a result that will please Rel Madrid who will now keenly watch Barcelona’s game against Levante, because if the Catalan club lose ground in that game, it could see the Madrid club keep their temporary place at the top of the La Liga table.