Real Madrid equaled a Spanish record of 39 games unbeaten in all competitions by crushing struggling Granada 5-0 Saturday to go six points clear at the top of La Liga. Spain midfielder Isco set Real on its way to an easy victory by latching on to a pass from Karim Benzema and squeezing the ball underneath Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa in the 12th minute. Benzema tapped in the second goal in the 20th minute after Ochoa failed to hold a shot from the lively Luka Modric and top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo struck his 11th league goal of the season by nodding in a cross from Marcelo. Isco turned in a low cross from Modric to stretch Real's lead in the 31st minute and defensive midfielder Casemiro scored his first goal of the season by stabbing in a free kick from James Rodriguez in the 58th. Although Granada is 19th in the table and has won just one game, the Andalusians made life hard for champion Barcelona back in October, losing only 1-0 by deploying a five-man defense and sitting deep. Its efforts to contain Real were far less successful and the La Liga leader's dominance was underlined by the fact that it conceded only one shot on target. "It's much easier when you start a game by scoring goals early on like we did today. Granada like to sit back so it was important to score when we did," Real coach Zinedine Zidane said. Real tops the standings on 40 points from 16 games, although Barcelona, which has also played 16, can close the gap when it visits Villarreal Sunday. Also Saturday, Antoine Griezmann scored his first league goal in more than three months as Atletico Madrid won 2-0 at Eibar to provisionally go fourth in the standings. The France international ended his La Liga goal drought by gliding forward to the edge of the area and playing a pass with compatriot Kevin Gameiro before blasting into the net in the 74th minute. Saul Niguez had broken the deadlock on a freezing cold pitch in the 54th minute by glancing in a Filipe Luis cross following a short corner routine. Atletico withstood plenty of pressure from the home side after netting the first goal and sealed the points with Griezmann's first league strike since he scored against Valencia on Oct. 2. "It was a difficult game in a difficult ground, we gave everything. We struggled to get into the game at first but we were much better in the second half," Griezmann said. Atletico goes fourth on 31 points although Real Sociedad, on 29, has the chance to leapfrog Diego Simeone's side when it hosts third-placed Sevilla later Saturday. Espanyol took advantage of a blunder by Brazilian defender Sidnei to salvage a 1-1 draw at home against Deportivo La Coruna Friday. Espanyol is ninth in the table, with Deportivo in 15th. Falcao scores again Radamel Falcao scored his seventh goal in the past five games as Monaco beat second-division Ajaccio 2-1 to reach the fourth round of the French Cup Friday. The Colombia striker made a sharp run to the near post to turn in an excellent cross from 18-year-old French winger Kylian Mbappe in the 19th minute. The 30-year-old Falcao has netted 16 times in all competitions this season. Johan Cavalli equalized from the penalty spot in the 65th. But the lead lasted little more than one minute as substitute striker Valere Germain headed in from a free kick. — Agencies
