Real Madrid faced Granada after being crowned as La Liga champions last week when they won against Athletic Bilbao and mathematically won the season.
Jose Mourinho finally had the chance to rest a few of his players, and give a chance to his second string of players, ones who did not get the chance to prove themselves for most of the season.
With Real Madrid winning the league, a loss against Granada wouldn’t have hurt, and Jose Mourinho featured a second-choice line-up when they went away from home to play at Nuevo Los Carmenes.
Referee, Carlos Clos Gomez, was in charge of the tie and later became one of the most prominent figures in the game after he showed two red cards and blew the final whistle with the final score line 1-2 in favour of Real Madrid.
Granada coach Abel Resino had to play a first-choice team because it was an important game for his side. A win would mean that they can easily rest in the first division of the Spanish La Liga; in fact, even a draw would have aided them in surviving relegation.
On the other hand, Jose Mourinho played his second string, giving the younger and less tested ones a chance to prove themselves.
Granada lined up in a traditional 4-4-2 formation with their goalkeeper http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Julio-Cesar-c19961 standing between the two sticks and being aided by four defenders.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/David-c10409 Cortes played in the favourite full-back roles.
The two-man midfield consisted of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Martinez-c24468 while Moises Hurtado featured on the left flank.
The front two consisted of Igholo, who played right behind http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Franco-Jara-c14063; hence, actually forming a 4-4-1-1.
On the other hand, Real Madrid organized themselves in their favourite 4-2-3-1 formation. Their club captain, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Iker-Casillas-c16815, was on the bench; therefore, the second choice goalkeeper, Adan, stood guard between the two posts.
The Portuguese centre-back, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Raul-c30652 Albiol, marked his return during this game and he featured in the right-back
position.
The first-choice midfielders, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Sami-Khedira-c32325.
With Mesut Ozil also benched, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Cristiano-Ronaldo-c9629 featured in the left wing position while Angel Di Maria played on the right wing.
It was the Frenchman, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Karim-Benzema-c20350, who played as the sole striker for the Spanish champions.
Tags: