Real Madrid made it two wins from two games under Carlo Ancelotti with a 1-0 victory at Granada, but Los Blancos were again made to work for the three points.
Rumours of Gareth Bale’s impending arrival in Madrid had somewhat overshadowed the build-up to the game, but the visitors didn’t appear distracted as Karim Benzema opened the scoring after just 10 minutes.
Mesut Ozil then had a goal ruled out and Isco struck the post after the break as Madrid continued to have the lion’s share of the chances.
However, Granada were denied a great chance to snatch a point five minutes from time when referee Javier Estrada Fernandez failed to spot a trip on Diego Buonanotte by Casemiro inside the area.
“I am happy. It was an important result,” Ancelotti told a press conference afterwards.
“In the first-half we played very well with a very fast rhythm. The team was compact defensively despite the fact we had a lot of offensive players as they all worked hard.
“The rhythm was slower in the second-half and as a result the game was more difficult.”
Real also won by just the odd goal against Real Betis last weekend, but Ancelotti stressed it is vital to keep winning whilst they make the adjustments to the style of football he wants to play.
“I saw the Barca game yesterday and they had a difficult match too.
“We are trying to change a few things in our philosophy and at this point it is important to pick up points as we go along.” Ancelotti’s decision to keep faith with Diego Lopez in goal ahead of Spanish captain Iker Casillas was the big news before kick-off, but the Italian picked a very attack-minded line-up with Angel Di Maria coming in for the injured Sami Khedira and the former Milan boss was rewarded with a very bright start by his side.
Benzema should have put Real in front after just five minutes when he skewed wide after a lovely reverse ball from Di Maria had played him in.
The Frenchman made amends five minutes later though as Di Maria’s cross from the right was inadvertently knocked into Benzema’s path by Cristiano Ronaldo and he swept home from close range.