Madrid should be dead for a long time. Choose the cause because almost all of them are worth: exhaustion (50 badly distributed games), discouragement (he lost sight of Atlético) or starvation (a single goalscorer). But no one chases as well as him. It is in the founding act of the club. Also in the anthem and is for veterans and novices. Yesterday, with more of the seconds than of the first, he liquidated a Granada that is already looking to the holidays with the course approved in Spain and close to outstanding in Europe. It was a triumph without reply, even from a physical point of view. At this stage, endorphins can hit the hamstrings. Modric, head of the party, can explain it well after having given the odometer two laps.
If they looked to the right, Marvin. If they did it to the left, Miguel Gutiérrez. The wingers of the third instance. And five sub-23s in the eleven that should keep him alive in the League. The new normal for a team that continues to reel in the chase. Madrid has built a good part of its greatness with a Gallic village behavior: to resist is to win. And so it goes, as if the years did not pass. A Los Cármenes came out as if he really believed that everything is still possible, as if Atlético had not beaten the Real, as if the lawsuit of Militao's incorrupt arm had not existed, greatly lengthening the journey of their rockets through the bands, Rodrygo and Vinicius, and with Kroos sitting in the stands. It became clear that the plan was to run away, dislodge Granada, even at the cost of losing the German leadership.
Miguel Gutiérrez's 'spoon'
Granada, who on the bus that took him to the stadium confirmed that he will not return to Europe next season, pressed little. It was evident that he was neither cold nor hot, because He got rid of that carnage of descent a few days ago. He lacked that effort that has had him in the heights for a good part of the season, although he can be more than justified with the losses, as numerous and significant as those of Madrid.
Modric and Benzema, during the Los Cármenes game.
Parker
Zidane's team was soon to the point. First with a header from Benzema in which everyone deserved a medal: Rodrygo as an assistant, the Frenchman as a finisher and Ruis Silva as a barrier. Granada did not heed the warning and immediately fell behind on the scoreboard. The goal was a song to the quarry, the only plant that grows more the more barren the land. Miguel Gutiérrez made his way to the left and took a spoon pass to Modric that the Croatian processed with the left without too much angle. The assistance was both precision and daring. At best Marcelo would not have been surprised. In a 19-year-old boy who was playing his first game as a starter, it caused a hopeful astonishment. The goal accommodated Madrid even more because Granada did not find Puertas or Machís and even less Fede Vico or Jorge Molina. The eleven of Diego Martínez had offensive pretensions, with three midfielders and a reference nine, but in football, often, no more is hunted for carrying more ammunition.
A fleeting suspense
In any case, having reached the advantage, Madrid moderated the speech. He used the ball as a shield and made sure that nothing happened near Courtois until he made the second blow, before the break.. Rodrygo took advantage of a dispute won by Marvin and was looking for the hole in the area until he appeared. His cross shot was final. It has fewer bells than Vinicius, but its mettle in the area is notably superior. A pity that coldness that greatly disfigures his virtues.
In the second half, Granada left its role as listener and Madrid turned on automatic after a quick calculation of the beating of the return trip and how close San Mamés is. And Diego Martínez's changes had more effect than those of Zidane, who were intended to massage the team. Soro and Suárez gave the team an offensive presence. The Colombian fumbled a shot near the goal line, but the second hit him completely and the rejection of Courtois served Jorge Molina to put the game within reach of Granada. It lasted a sigh, what it took Odriozola to apply a whiplash to a loan from Hazard, forced to the center after a bad control, and Benzema to take advantage of a bizarre departure from Rui Silva. It was the Frenchman's last service, to which Zidane was immediately saved. It is a precious metal. And Madrid left Granada leaving a message repeated throughout its history: this League will end in Cibeles or in Little Bighorn.