Three lessons learned from Granada 0-4 Real Madrid | OneFootball

Matchday 35 of La Liga saw Real Madrid take on Granada at the Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes on Saturday evening in what was the team’s first game after being declared league champions.

The hosts, fresh off the news of their imminent relegation, were far from their confident best. Yet, they did well to put up resistance against the champions in the initial period though they eventually caved into the pressure.

Fran Garcia opened the scoring for the Merengues in the 38th minute before young Arda Guler doubled the lead just before half-time.

A Brahim Diaz brace just after half-time took the men in white’s lead to 4-0 on the night, putting the result well beyond doubt.

Madrid Universal brings you three talking points from Granada 0-4 Real Madrid.

Not a ‘B’ team

Changes were aplenty when Real Madrid took on Granada last night at Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes.

With ten changes from the lineup that featured in the semifinal against Bayern Munich, it is not unfair to call last night’s line-up to be Real Madrid’s best backup lineup.

Almost every player dressed in white last night put up a show to remember. Fran Garcia was splendid down the left wing and even capped off his performance with a goal while Vazquez created one big chance and dished out a defensive clinic.

Modric and Ceballos both recorded an assist each and were flawless with their distribution, dictating the play in the middle of the park. Guler, meanwhile, got on the scoresheet once more making it two goals in his last three appearances.

Diaz all the way

Of all the Real Madrid players on the field at Los Carmenes, Brahim Diaz was the team’s best performer once again.

The Spanish-Moroccan star dazzled in the final third against Granada and was almost unplayable with his progressive carries.

Diaz assisted Fran Garcia’s opener with a well-worked ball to the flank from a promising position, showing great decision-making under pressure.

His impact only grew in the second half of the game as he single-handedly sealed the tie in Real Madrid’s favour.

With a spectacular run from the halfway line just four minutes after the restart of play, Diaz went on a sensational solo run and slammed the ball into the bottom left corner with a curler.

He then went on to make it 4-0 for Los Blancos two minutes shy of the hour mark, getting on the end of Luka Modric’s well-worked ball to the centre.

Apart from his goal contributions, Diaz also recorded a stunning seven successful dribbles out of ten attempted, made one key pass and completed 100% of his long balls attempted.

The youngster is, at this point, making a serious case for a starting spot under Carlo Ancelotti.

Joselu’s mixed week

Joselu was Real Madrid’s hero midweek, scoring twice in the dying minutes to take his side through to the final of the UEFA Champions League. He was only on the field for nine minutes on that night, yet played the most crucial role for the team.

Against Granada, however, the veteran striker was given the start but dished out a very poor performance through the ninety minutes.

Playing the entire game, Joselu managed just nine accurate passes and 22 touches, averaging one pass every ten minutes.

His off-the-ball movement was not up to the mark and he was relatively invisible for large parts of the game.

The Spanish marksman had three big chances against Granada and let all three go begging, thus failing to convert from an xG of 1.04 on the night.

Joselu’s performance last night will go largely unnoticed under the shadow of his phenomenal showing midweek. Still, it is vital to point out that he was the team’s weak link on the night.