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The game started slowly for Real Madrid. Maybe it was all because of Cristiano Ronaldo's Ballon D'Or presentation. But Real Madrid found their way around the 10th minute, when Bale recovered a dangerous ball and Murillo prevented an obvious face to face with a kick. The referee should have sent Murillo off, but decided to book him instead.
After that, Real Madrid woke up a little, but Granada kept most of the possession and easily dismantled Real's momentum. With 18 minutes gone, Real Madrid had not created a single chance. Luka Modric left his blueprint with some brilliant skills on the ball, but the team kept playing carelessly. Benzema scored on the 27th minute but the referee disallowed it. Xabi Alonso never seemed to understand what the game was about. He was caught out of position quite often, so Sergio Ramos and Pepe had to work more than expected.
It was indeed a terrible first half. The BBC was disconnected and never found the rhythm. The offense turned out to be quite predictable and Granada's defense was doing a proper job. Ancelotti needed to change some things during half time, and possibly introduce a player like Jesé or Isco who could shake things up. But before, Cristiano Ronaldo had a chance to score the goal of the season with an acrobatic play, but Roberto kept the ball out. Actually, that try stopped the crowd from booing the players when they were heading to the dressing room.
Jesé spent those 15 minutes warming up, and Ancelotti introduced him for Gareth Bale as soon as the second half started. It would be better if Ancelotti actually tried to find a better position for him, because he's somewhat lost on the right wing as soon as he gets double-coverage from the opposition.
That substitution led to a 4-4-2 formation. Luka Modric had a big chance, but his first touch was too strong and Roberto a valuable time to tackle him and set the ball to corner-kick.
On the 55th minute, Cristiano Ronaldo score Real's first goal with a Granada defender on the ground. It was good to see the team going after that play. Fatau returned to the pitch shortly after, and maybe this will prevent other players from diving an staying on the ground if the referee doesn't call the foul.
Luckily enough for Real Madrid, the team played much better after that first goal. Xabi Alonso found his spot and started recovering some important ball on Granada's half. That allowed his team to play comfortably and try to score another goal to increase the lead. That happened after a brilliant play by Marcelo and Cristiano Ronaldo on the left wing. The Brazilian left back assisted Karim Benzema, who only had to push the ball in to keep his good form alive.
It should also be noted that the team managed to get the 7th clean sheet in a row. This is definitely a good number that could only be improved if the midfielders and the offensive line started playing better.
