Real Madrid eke out lifeless win vs. Granada to leapfrog Barca
BARCELONA, Spain --
Karim Benzema scored to help Real Madrid eke out a 1-0 win over Granada and take the overnight lead of the Spanish league on Saturday.
Granada's disciplined defense and the solid goalkeeping of Andres Fernandez held Madrid in check, while the visitors' attack matched their star-studded hosts chance for chance in an evenly-contested first half.
But Benzema tilted the match in Madrid's favor 10 minutes after halftime with a close-range header to put the Santiago Bernabeu crowd at ease.
Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo saw his scoring run end after eight goals in his previous two matches.
Madrid has 10 points, one more than Barcelona. The defending champions can reclaim the league lead against Levante on Sunday.
''We started with a chance but they had theirs as well,'' said Madrid defender Marcelo. ''The first half was very difficult, but we eventually got the goal and defended hard to get the win.''
Madrid, which had won its previous three matches in all competitions by the combined score of 15-0, kept a club record fifth straight clean sheet with Keylor Navas in goal.
Later on Saturday, Atletico Madrid visits Eibar, while Valencia welcomes Real Betis and Espanyol is at Real Sociedad.
Madrid said that it had invited the Syrian refugee who was tripped at a border hotspot by a Hungarian journalist in an incident that generated global outrage to the match along with his sons. Osama Abdul Mohsen had arrived to the capital earlier this week after a Spanish football academy offered to help them rebuild their life.
Madrid was without Gareth Bale and Sergio Ramos after both were hurt in a 4-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday, joining James Rodriguez and Danilo on the injured list.
Granada's strong showing, however, was still a surprise at Madrid, where last season it lost by the humbling score of 9-1.
The visitors' best opportunity came in the 20th when striker Youssef El Arabi had a goal waived off for a questionable offside call.
''We are happy with this game because we played well,'' El Arabi said. ''If we play like this against other teams we will win easily.''
Fernandez had already saved a shot by Ronaldo and then atoned for a poor block of a Ronaldo free kick which left Lucas Vazquez alone in front of the net by blocking his attempt in the 23rd. He also stretched a foot to repel Luka Modric's point-blank effort in the 31st.
Navas had his turn to rush out and smother Isaac Success' effort in the 39th. Success went close in the 53rd when he chipped the ball over the bar after El Arabi set him up.
The Nigerian forward was left to rue his miss moments later when Benzema broke the deadlock by nodding in Francisco ''Isco'' Alarcon's cross from inside the six-yard box.
