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Real Madrid have gone from the crisis to being true contenders for the title.
On Wednesday night they beat a strong Granada 2-0 in Valdebebas to secure their fifth consecutive league win and sixth on the rebound in all competitions.
Casemiro opened the scoring for the hosts before Karim Benzema doubled his lead at the end, tying Madrid on points with league leaders and city rivals Atletico Madrid. However, Los Blancos have played two more games.
👔 Zidane: “The first half was difficult. In the second we were much better. I’m happy for the players.”#RealMadridGranada | #Go Madrid pic.twitter.com/VmUCkMK6Fn
– Real Madrid CF (@realmadrid) December 23, 2020
Granada was seventh entering the game and put up a great fight after being on a five-game unbeaten streak.
“It was a tough match,” Zinedine Zidane said after the match in comments from Marca. “It was a difficult game. They came to press the ball.
“The first part was difficult but the second was much better. I am happy for them because these games are not easy. We deserved the victory thanks to the second half we played ”.
“We were much better in the second half, pressing and recovering balls, winning more duels. They complicated our lives in the first half. We won against a good team that arrived after a good run of results ”.
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🔥 We add our 6️⃣ª consecutive victory!#RealMadridGranada | #Go Madrid pic.twitter.com/rqX3qvPD48– Real Madrid CF (@realmadrid) December 23, 2020
Eden Hazard’s return to the team of the day made headlines before the game, but Zidane did not consider him fit enough to return to the field after a month off due to injury.
“I did not consider it appropriate for him to play,” he said. “It was a difficult match and I didn’t want to risk Eden. It’s fine, but we want to take it little by little ”.
Zidane was clear in his post-match message to his players. He was happy with their work and eager for them to come to rest for Christmas, but also eager to make sure they knew that the hard work must continue upon their return.
“We have to continue fighting as we are,” he said. “Now I’m going to ask the players to rest and go with their families, but when they return they have to work hard.”
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