Five talking points from Real Madrid's victory against Granada

Real Madrid established themselves at the top of the La Liga table after a 4-2 victory against Granada on Saturday.

The team used a strong midfield as they played yet another entertaining game to earn the three points. In the absence of an orthodox left-back, Dani Carvajal was slotted into that position with the young Spaniard, Alvaro Odriozola, taking up the right back role.

Losing just one game in their last five, Granada were not a team to be underestimated as they gave a tough fight after the first 45 minutes.

A fantabulous assist from Gareth Bale

Karim Benzema broke the deadline in the second minute of the game by tapping in a brilliant cross from the Welshman. The pass went past three Granada players and Benzema connected on it to produce a sublime finish. The attacking move was simply ferocious as it baffled the opposition completely.

Gareth Bale commanded his presence in the attack by making darting runs down the right wing. Granada CF struggled to cope up with the speed of Los Blancos as they were totally overrun by a strong midfield setup.

Hazard scores his first goal for Real Madrid

The best part of the match came before half time where Fede Valverde intercepted a pass from an opposition defender and chipped in a great pass to Eden Hazard. The Belgian produced a beautiful finish by lobbing the ball over goalkeeper, Rui Silva.

The former Chelsea star made no mistake this time and he was applauded by the Santiago Bernabeu crowd for his outstanding effort.

Strong Midfield Presence

Los Blancos Manager Zinedine Zidane implemented a three man midfield consisting of Valverde, Toni Kroos and Casemiro. The midfield trio had the game in their hands as they controlled the tempo without much pressure.

Valverde, especially, gave a tremendous performance in the middle as he constantly made runs towards the opposition, gave an assist and most importantly, he recovered possession for his team.

Luka Modric scored a rocket off an assist by Hazard in the 61st minute as he gave a 3-0 lead for the club.

Injury woes

Having already lost five players due to injury, Toni Kroos also got injured yesterday. He was replaced by Luka Modric in the 34th minute of the match.

Gareth Bale reportedly took a knock as James Rodriguez came in for the Welsh Captain twelve minutes prior to the end of the match.

This is a major concern for the manager as he looks for the players to be back to their normal self once the international break is over.

The Golden Boy returns

Despite the looming controversies regarding an unhealthy relationship between Zidane and James Rodriguez, the Colombian scored his first goal of the season with the last one coming back almost two seasons ago.

Granada almost gave a scare to Los Blancos as they came from 3-0 down to 3-2 in a matter of minutes. The introduction of James, however, proved to be a difference as he strolled the ball past the goalkeeper, following an assist from Odriozola.

Real Madrid once again reminded their critics and football pundits of their supremacy as they continue their unbeaten streak in the Spanish league.

Cover image credits: Getty