Real Madrid made it two wins in two La Liga outings when Karim Benzema’s 10th-minute strike secured an uninspiring win at Granada last night.
Real still seem to be finding their feet under Carlo Ancelotti and although they dominated the first half they lost their way in a poor-quality second period at Granada’s Los Carmenes stadium.
Benzema, who also scored in the 2-1 opening day success at home to Real Betis last weekend, scuffed the ball into the net after an unmarked Cristiano Ronaldo miscontrolled an Angel Di Maria cross.
Ronaldo sent a low strike narrowly wide late on but Granada had several chances in the final minutes.
Ancelotti has much to mull over before Athletic Bilbao visit the Bernabeu on Sunday. The victory puts Real on six points, the same as champions Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Bilbao and Villarreal.
Barca, 1-0 winners at Malaga on Sunday, top the standings on goal difference, with Real in fifth
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/YVIRIOZQ35EWRPZXR27KGMO6YU.png)