Granada 0 – 4 Real Madrid: 3 Key Takeaways from the La Liga match

The“B-Team” from Real Madrid put four goals past Granada to secure a crucial three points in La Liga. Here’s Alex McVey with 3 key takeaways from the match.

Zinedine Zidane is really spoiled for choice

Once again, Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane chooses to roll out a heavily rotated lineup from the starting XI that defeated Atletico mid-week. With Ramos and Casemiro the only returning players, Zidane took a gamble that his backup players would be able to make an impact against an already-relegated Granada side.

Zidane has insisted that there is no such thing as an A-squad and B-squad at Madrid. Still, it’s painfully obvious that many of the players rolled out against Granada would not have been chosen against a stronger team.  Nevertheless, the squad players at Madrid have done the most with the limited opportunities they’ve been given.

Previously at Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti was scoured for his seeming inability to trust the backups at his disposal, creating huge injury problems. Not so for Zidane, who has managed to do near wholesale rotations in the La Liga matches against bottom-half teams.

James Rodriguez and Alvaro Morata each bagged a first half brace to put the game beyond reach for Granada early on. Madrid’s squad players looked sharp and hungry for goals as they dispatched with a sub-par Granada team with ease.

Even Real Madrid’s much maligned backup full-backs, Fabio Coentrao and Danilo, played a part in the demolition, each grabbing an assist. Danilo, a player many thought should be shipped on in January after his own-goals cost Madrid dearly in the Copa del Rey, and Fabio Coentrao, who has previously told the media that he didn’t think he was fit enough to be training with Real Madrid, have both contributed in key matches down the home stretch.