Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 598 Granada Stabilizes

Granada will host Real Madrid at their home stadium, Camenes Stadium, in the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-final.

Ninety minutes later, the Granada fans in the stadium fell silent.

2:4.

Real Madrid defeated Granada by two goals away from home.

The report from AS stated: "Real Madrid still hasn't solved the problem of defending against Shan Yongzhuo. They still allowed Shan Yongzhuo to score two goals, but that doesn't matter anymore."

"Real Madrid's performance in this match was impeccable. While maintaining a solid defense, they launched one fierce attack after another against Granada. With their multiple players contributing, they ultimately won the game."

"This was a team victory. Ronaldo, Bale, Morata, and Ramos—Real Madrid's goal came from four players. They relied on teamwork to defeat Granada, who only had one player, Shan Yongzhuo, away from home."

"Nainggolan's injury was fatal for Granada. Their midfield was completely broken, and they had no way to control the rhythm of the game. In the end, they were overwhelmed by Real Madrid's relentless attacks."

“Gunnarsson tried his best, but he could only defend. Ziyech was a complete sieve in midfield. His reckless dribbling breakthroughs not only did not help the team, but also threw Granada’s rhythm into chaos.”

“Blind’s injury was also a key factor. Without Blind, Granada’s flanks were completely invisible, and no one was able to make runs to support Shan Yongzhuo.”

"With a resounding 2-4 away win, Real Madrid defeated Granada in the first leg, putting them one foot in the Copa del Rey semi-finals."

Mundo Deportivo gave Shan Yongzhuo an 8 out of 10 rating after the match, which was Granada's highest score. The article said: "He used two very rare chances to help the team score two goals, but the rest of the team could hardly provide him with any support, which left him to fight completely alone."

Of course, this is similar to the basic situation of the competition.

Granada was completely overwhelmed.

Real Madrid's performance in this match was outstanding. They had far more possession and entered the penalty area than Granada, and their overall teamwork was impeccable. Winning the game was a natural outcome.

With a score of 2-4 and four away goals, Real Madrid's victory is not just a matter of winning; they can be said to have essentially secured their place in the Copa del Rey semi-finals.

In the following league match, the 21st round, Granada traveled to the Bernabéu to face Real Madrid.

In this match, Shan Yongzhuo gave his all and scored a hat-trick, which helped Real Madrid secure a narrow 3-3 draw at the Bernabéu.

However, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona both defeated their opponents, further narrowing the gap with Granada to one point.

After losing 2-4 to Real Madrid at home, Granada's team atmosphere has been heavy. The training ground is filled with a tense atmosphere. There are no more scenes of players gathering together to laugh and joke. Everyone is training seriously, and their communication is limited to private whispers, which are mostly related to the game.

The draw against Real Madrid provided some relief for the players.

Ziyech, in particular, has been under tremendous pressure in these two matches.

After losing to Real Madrid at home, he faced unanimous criticism from the media, who believed he was the key to the loss.

In the past, when Nainggolan was playing, he was able to suppress Ziyech with his age and physical strength. With Nainggolan controlling the midfield and the rhythm of the game, Ziyech performed very well, and the media at the time unanimously praised him as having the potential to become a future midfield superstar.

However, without Nainggolan, Ziyech's weaknesses were thoroughly exposed in these two matches.

Despite Ziyech's quick dribbling speed and excellent passing ability.

However, his physical strength was too poor, his rhythm control was too bad, and he held onto the ball too long. Without Nainggolan's presence to draw defenders away, this clearly inexperienced young player completely let loose, repeatedly dribbling past Real Madrid and ending up in their defensive quagmire. Judging from his performance, he was completely outmaneuvered by Real Madrid's midfield maestro, Modric.

More importantly, Ziyech also has a very prominent problem with wasting shots.

With Nainggolan absent, Ziyech completely exposed this in the game. When he pushed himself into a desperate situation, his final choice was often to take a shot without even looking.

In the first leg of the Copa del Rey, he squandered several good opportunities with his wild shots.

In this match, Ziyech clearly restrained this trait, no longer impulsively seeking breakthroughs after receiving the ball, but instead learning to observe more and using long passes to directly find Shan Yongzhuo or Flores.

This also improved Granada's overall performance slightly.

Pellegrini had certainly noticed Ziyech's performance. He didn't criticize the player, but he was pleased to see the player make adjustments on his own.

Therefore, in the second leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-final, although Pellegrini had given up on the match and fielded most of his reserve squad at the Bernabéu, he still started Ziyech in the end.

In this match, Granada's reserve team faced off against Real Madrid's reserve team, and it could be described as an exhibition game.

Ultimately, Granada lost 1-2 to Real Madrid away from home, a score that wasn't too embarrassing.

Furthermore, Ziyech assisted Irine in scoring a goal, which was enough to satisfy Pellegrini.

After finishing this match, despite being eliminated from the Copa del Rey, the entire Granada team finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Given the team's injury woes, a record of one draw and two losses in three matches against Real Madrid is already quite satisfactory.

Moreover, the fact that they drew with Real Madrid in the most important league gave Granada a great chance to breathe, preventing Barcelona and Atletico Madrid from catching up and allowing Granada to remain at the top of the league standings.

Granada has achieved one win and one draw in their two league matches against Real Madrid this season, which is enough, at least they won't have to face Real Madrid in the upcoming league matches.

After finishing the matches in January, the first match of February was a home game against Celta Vigo.

In this match, Shan Yongzhuo was able to vent his frustrations.

Although three key players have not yet returned, Granada's current squad is similar to Celta Vigo's, and may even be slightly better.

In this match, Shan Yongzhuo scored twice, helping his team defeat Celta Vigo 2-1.

A victory completely washed away the gloom.

Moreover, in this round, Barcelona stumbled, losing at home to Valencia.

Although Atletico Madrid won the match, Real Madrid were held to a draw by Athletic Bilbao.

Barcelona and Real Madrid have fallen behind.

Now, the only team still closely following Granada is Atletico Madrid.

(End of this chapter)