Real Madrid vs. Granada: Winners and Losers from La Liga
Real Madrid got themselves back to winning ways and showed they are still in the title fight by temporarily closing the gap at the top of La Liga to a single point after a thundering 9-1 victory over Granada on Sunday.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored five and could have had even more, while Karim Benzema scored twice in quick succession after the break. Diego Mainz put through his own net, and Roberto Ibanez scored the consolation for Granada, while all that came after Gareth Bale had scored the match's opening goal.
Here are our winners and losers from the 10-goal feast.
Winner: Cristiano Ronaldo
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After a handful of sulking, hit-and-miss performances, Cristiano Ronaldo perked up considerably once his first goal hit the back of the net against Granada. In fact, he perked up so much that he repeated the trick twice more inside the next 10 minutes.
A first half full of direct running, shooting on sight and evading the Granada defence saw him rattle in the 24th Liga hat-trick of his Real Madrid career, composed of one fine finish into the far corner, a half-volley on the run from close range and a thunderous drive from the edge of the box that the keeper should have saved.
As good as that 45 minutes was, Ronaldo could have more than doubled his tally in the second half, scoring a close-range header before missing at least four presentable chances to add a ridiculous gloss to his own already-shiny tally. He finally headed in his fifth goal of the day at the back post in the 89th minute.
Loser: Oier Olazabal
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Granada goalkeeper Oier Olazabal would no doubt have expected to face a tough 90 minutes against Real Madrid, but he would also have hoped to showcase his best form both as a former Barcelona player and to prove he can play against the best.
It didn't really happen that way, though, as he was easily rounded for the opening goal, couldn't stop a cross for the third and made all kinds of a mess of Ronaldo's hat-trick goal, getting both hands to the shot but only palming it into the far corner of the net.
The less said about the start of the second half the better, as he was beaten a further three times in 10 minutes or so. He ultimately conceded a goal every 10 minutes on average in the match.
Winner: James Rodriguez
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James Rodriguez played an hour on his return to the Real Madrid team after several months out with an injury and showed much of what the team had missed in his absence.
A nice dovetailing consistency between himself and the left-sided players—Ronaldo and Marcelo—meant there was continually room for all three to get involved, with James playing some terrific passes and low crosses inside the box.
A couple of assists also put some end-product shine on his performance before he left to a great ovation.
Loser: Abel Resino
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Abel Resino spoke about giving it a go at the Bernabeu and hoping his team caught Real on an off-day. The opening 20 minutes gave him cause for optimism, as his team's high defensive line and compact midfield meant his team stopped Real creating too much.
Once Real's first goal went in, though, there had never been a more apt use for the cliche "the floodgates opened"; they scored nine times in the space of 65 minutes from their first goal to last.
Resino, from the sidelines, could do nothing to stem the tide after making eight changes to his usual first-choice XI, making all his subs before the hour mark but watching his defence lurch from one shambolic mistake to the next. Granada remain 19th and three points adrift of safety and will need to rebuild a lot of confidence ahead of the crucial game at Almeria on April 11.
Winner: Real Madrid's Title Fight
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With Barcelona's lead at the top back to just one point, Real Madrid's title fight is back on.
The win, the flow of goals, the happiness of Ronaldo and the return to fitness of Luka Modric and James Rodriguez are all critical elements in pushing the team toward a run-in during which they will likely need to win at least eight of their last nine league matches.
Barcelona can extend that points gap against Celta Vigo, of course, but Real can only focus on winning their own games to keep the pressure up—and they did that in style this time around.
