Real Madrid: Five takeaways from a 4-1 win over Granada

Real Madrid showed the fight they need

Real Madrid have been a bit disappointing over the past few weeks, and they came out flat last weekend in the first half against Sevilla. It was only in the second half when Los Merengues turned up the heat. They were especially urgent in the closing moments of the match, scoring very late and then nearly netting a winner immediately afterward.

So it was encouraging to see Los Blancos carry that Madridismo into the match at Los Carmenes and show that fight for the full 90 minutes. Real Madrid created chances and were active off the ball from the get-go, with young players like Miguel Gutierrez playing a key role in the way Real constantly fought to create chances.

In this title race, there is no margin for error, and even that might not be good enough if Atletico Madrid don’t slip up against Osasuna and Real Valladolid. But Real know they can only control their destiny. In order to do that, they have to make sure their intensity and focus are at the highest levels. The latter dropped at points in this match with some poor giveaways, but Real had players, such as Thibaut Courtois, who made up for the lapses by making sure they did their jobs with 100 percent maximum effort.

Real Madrid will need to continue this ethos both over the weekend against Athletic Club and then to close the season against another strong LaLiga side in Europa League finalists Villarreal.