Another week and another victory notched by Real Madrid with a 1-0 win over Granada at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Los Galacticos have continued their positive start to the season and are now atop of the La Liga with rivals Barcelona’s to play Levante at the weekend.
It was Frenchman Karim Benzema who was the sole goal scorer for the hosts as his header from an Isco cross sealed the victory for the Rafael Benitez’s men.
Ronaldo must wait
Cristiano Ronaldo may have played yet another great game on the weekend but the illusive record of 323 league goals for the Madrid-based giants still looms large on his stellar horizon.
A hat-trick would place the Portuguese superstar above Raul as the club’s highest ever goal scorer with Ronaldo stalling on 321 goals against Granada.
Already a multiple record-holder, the 30-year-old would no doubt be considered the best goalscorer in the club’s history when he inevitably surpasses Raul.
He needs no introduction and his list of achievements is endless but the Real star just seems to develop with age.
If there is an individual with a shade of doubt in their mind, they need only re-watch his recent UEFA Champions League performance against Shakhtar Donetsk, where he scored a treble.
Which of course followed his five goal haul against Espanyol.
Enough said.
The injury list
The victory against Granada was quite literally eked out by the hosts. Yet despite the dismal score-line, Madrid proved victory can still be attained despite several injuries.
Welshman Gareth Bale, Colombian midfielder James Rodriguez as well as central defender Sergio Ramos and fullback Danilo, were all absent through injury.
However it was an in-form Keylor Navas who displayed an excellent goalkeeping performance. The 28-year-old has kept a club record five successive clean sheets. Indeed Real are yet to concede a goal thus far this season.
The stellar performance puts Navas within 10 minutes of Iker Casillas’ 460-minute unbeaten record during the 2008/2009 season.
Yet Granada certainly attempted to change this factor as they more than matched their opponents throughout.
Their defensive stability combined with the goalkeeping effort of Andres Fernandez were crucial elements in the positive performance displayed by the visitors despite the loss.
There certainly will be bigger and better things coming for Granada if these shows of skill and unity continue.
Madrid take an early lead
In what is always the greatest subplot of each La Liga season, Real Madrid grabbed an early jump on their bitter title rivals, Barcelona with this efficient performance.
With their match against Levante still to come, Benitez has shifted the pressure to Luis Enrique and even this early on in the season will looking to gain a jump on the Catalan-based club.
Messi and co. must keep the pace if they want to avoid playing catch up in the Clasico.
What are your thoughts? Let us know by dropping a comment below via our Facebook comment box. Make sure you follow us on Twitter @Outside90 and like us on Facebook.
