The shortage, in addition to entailing a certain amount of anguish, opens up a time of opportunities, and in this Real Madrid that collects injuries, Brahim eagerly throws himself into occupying the cracks that open up. Against Granada, he entered as a midfielder in the place that Ceballos had occupied on Wednesday against Naples, and from there he dedicated himself to agitating. He scored thanks to a dazzling genius from Kroos, opened the play that led to Rodrygo’s second goal, and ended up expanding his influence across the entire width of the field, with imbalance in attack and steals in defense. And so, under the shine of another secondary, Madrid maintained the lead, equal on points with the increasingly less surprising Girona, which came back at home.
2
Andriy Lunin, Alaba, Dani Carvajal (Lucas Vázquez, min. 45), Rüdiger, Ferland Mendy, Jude Bellingham, Kroos, Brahim Diaz (Nico Paz, min. 87), Federico Valverde, Rodrygo (Gonzalo García, min. 85) and Joselu (Dani Ceballos, min. 69)
0
![Grenade](https://as01.epimg.net/img/comunes/fotos/fichas/equipos/large/347.png)
Raúl Fernández (André Ferreira, min. 10), Raúl Torrente, Carlos Neva, Ricard Sánchez, Miquel, Sergio Ruiz, Gumbau, Bryan Zaragoza, Wilson Jancó (Njegos Petrovic, min. 63), Myrto Uzuni (Weissman, min. 63) and Lucas Boyé (Doors, min. 82)
Goals 1-0 min. 26: Brahim Diaz. 2-0 min. 56: Rodrygo.
Referee Pablo González Fuertes
Yellow cards Rüdiger (min. 22) and Gumbau (min. 76)
Granada barely demanded him. After fluid displays against Cádiz and Naples, on the seventh day, in the third game, Madrid lifted its foot with a low-pulse function. They deployed at pace against a rival that has only won one game and drawn four. One of those matches was the energetic display against Barcelona (2-2) that led Bryan Zaragoza to the Spanish team after only nine games in the First Division. But at the Bernabéu, Granada showed tension on the floor, partly due to the hesitations typical of circulating through the basement of the classification, partly due to Madrid’s monopoly on the ball, with an increasingly dominating gravity.
![Brahim Diaz scores Real Madrid's first goal against Granada CF.](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/Kpq3RG43g-kwM-1lk5wANj0iAgU=/414x0/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/7P2JX5NI65BSDIXELXWXIGBZKY.jpg)
Ancelotti’s team rested with the ball from past efforts. He played and played, while Cacique Medina, making his debut on the bench of the Andalusian team, saw his team retreat to the rhythm of the metronome that Kroos operated. He seemed all harmless. The ball traveled without leaving a scratch, always in Real’s boots, almost lazily.
The jolt that stretched the thing was something strange. They threw Bellingham, the referee did not reproach him, and the Englishman got angry. González Fuertes needed that little bit to show him a yellow, and the stands lit up. Bellingham is the boy of the Bernabéu, and the Bernabéu left its pipes to reproach the referee for making his boy ugly. Rüdiger also complained to support him, who saw another card. While he administered that tiring rhythm, Kroos hid a punch up his sleeve. He plays these days accompanied by Valverde in the center of the line of four. That protection of a total footballer, who sweeps the entire area and plays judiciously, allows the German to appear a few steps ahead, without fearing for his back. From there he decided this time to try sending vertical projectiles into the area.
![David Alaba and Lucas Boyé in a match.](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/XkmUc2-Ve_KxmipZHgj-IYioYbI=/414x0/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/GZKEU6P46FEU3BYKDO7D6ESOTY.jpg)
The first, a little balloon, punctured before falling. The second was a flash at the first touch to return a wall to Brahim, who found himself alone in front of Ferreira, who was defending the goal after having to replace the injured Raúl Fernández in the 11th minute. The Malaga native’s heart rate did not rise and when the goalkeeper scored he was almost sitting on the ground. A goal is always a goal, but the momentum of the celebration was divided between the man from Malaga and the passer. Alaba happily launched himself at Kroos and lifted him off the ground with a hug. Brahim knelt, waited for the German and polished his right boot. It could have been in any of his last recitals, but the terminal nature of that performance triggered enthusiasm.
Granada barely showed its head beyond the center of the field. He left the Bernabéu with only one desperate shot in the 89th minute. They tried looking for Lucas Boyé, a fighter installed as a reference up top, but he crashed into Rüdiger. The German is a colossal, insurmountable presence these weeks, which this time dissolved every attack by the Argentine. He disappeared under its influence. Madrid also did not allow anything to Zaragoza, the street agitator who dazzled in the first part of the championship. But the area in which the man from Malaga operates is Carvajal territory, and the full-back continues in an abusive mode.
Bellingham again appeared as help everywhere, drawn to the area every time the ball appeared there. And he came back around for the goal. Brahim opened a gap in the area and left the ball behind the Englishman. Ferreira repelled his shot and Rodrygo, who is still enlightened, hunted again: seventh goal in the last five games. The Brazilian leads this Madrid that continues to lead in Spain and Europe despite the battalion of fallen.
![Rodrygo celebrates his goal with the Bernabéu stands.](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/LwfbNx6hJDmCzgzZUvz0tuZkxwE=/414x0/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/7XOAXGTFL5BHNCPLM6UVT3LJUY.jpg)
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