Four matches of the 8th round were played on Saturday in the "La Liga" championship in Spain.
Remaining in the leader position, Madrid's "Real" club clashed with the unexpected second-placed "Granada" on the tournament table at home. Despite gaining a convincing advantage, "Real" could have conceded, but eventually achieved a victory with a score of 4:2, in which Eden Hazard finally left a more visible mark.
The match started ideally for the Madrid team - after a great pass from Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema led the team forward in just the 2nd minute.
Attacking from the beginning of the match, "Real" later had great opportunities, but the second goal had to wait until the end of the half.
In the 45th minute, Eden Hazard finally opened the scoring for "Real" after a pass from Federico Valverde, running forward and delighting the "Santiago Bernabeu" stadium with a shot through the goalkeeper's hands.
The second half continued successfully for the team from the Spanish capital - in the 61st minute, Luka Modric appeared in the penalty area with an impressive shot, increasing the lead. E. Hazard also added a goal to his account with an assist.
However, the "Real" team later made a mistake near their own goal - Thibaut Courtois, who replaced Alphonse Areola, caused trouble for himself in the 69th minute and conceded a penalty. "Granada" did not stop with just one goal, as they narrowed the deficit to one goal in the 81st minute after a set piece.
The intrigue unexpectedly rose again, but "Real" was not willing to make more mistakes. Dealing with a few attacks from the opponents, the "whites" managed to launch a quick counterattack in the final moments of the match, which ended with a goal by James Rodriguez. Victory with a score of 4:2.
Gaining victories without losses, "Real" has a four-point advantage over the closest pursuers.
In the other matches, "Valencia" secured their second consecutive victory, managing to defeat "Alaves" at home. Another Valencia team, "Levante", also added three points to their account by defeating "Leganes" away.
In the last match of the evening, Pamplona's "Osasuna" beat the visiting "Villarreal".
Results:
"Real Madrid" 4 - 2 "Granada"
2' [1 - 0] K. Benzema
45' [2 - 0] E. Hazard
61' [3 - 0] L. Modrič
69' [3 - 1] D. Machis
81' [3 - 2] A. Duarte
90+3' [4 - 2] J. Rodriguez
"Leganes" 1 - 2 "Levante"
45' [0 - 1] R. Marti (penalty)
49' [0 - 2] J. Campana
76' [1 - 2] M. Brathwaite
"Valencia" 2 - 1 "Alaves"
27' [1 - 0] M. Gomez
83' [2 - 0] D. Parejo (penalty)
89' [2 - 1] L. Perez
"Osasuna" 2 - 1 "Villarreal"
5' [0 - 1] F. P. Torres
46' [1 - 1] F. Roncaglia
79' [2 - 1] C. Avila
Tournament Table:
