Modric keeps Madrid in the race

The fine home showings delivered by Zinedine Zidane's Real Madrid are proving conspicuous by their absence on their travels. On Sunday, they played worse than at Real Betis, despite only drawing that match and ultimately winning this one. But win it they did, courtesy of a fantastic strike from Luka Modric, their stand-out performer on the night, and on so many other occasions. A strike conjured up in isolation from Real's general play. They did not produce the better football; if anything, quite the opposite. Nor did they offer a sense of defiance when, with the clocking ticking down, the clash was heading for a stalemate. One which, had things ended that way, would have dealt an all but fatal blow to their title hopes.

As at the Santiago Bernabéu, Granada played well - and again came away empty-handed. What let them down were their lapses in defence. They were guilty of three in the first half, with one leading to the opener for Karim Benzema: a player transformed, of that there can be no doubt; a fox in the box sniffing out the goals. And on the winner, the hosts can be faulted for giving Modric too much time and space to shoot. They're the only black marks on a side that truly took the game to Real. At times like this, Los Blancos used to rely on Cristiano Ronaldo to get them out of trouble, but at Los Cármenes that wasn't the case. He made little impact, and the worst thing about it is that this is happening more and more.

Modric's stunner keeps Real in the race. They're four points off Barcelona - who have a game in hand - with Atlético lying between them and the leaders in the table. So it's by no means straightforward. But they can take some heart from the fact that Barça appear to be feeling the pace. Los Azulgranas' result against Levante did not tell the whole story. They put in a poor display; they looked ill at ease, disorganised and put off by the wind. Much like Cristiano in Granada, Leo Messi was a shadow of his usual self. Playing like this, Barça offer hope to their pursuers. Real's problem, however, is that the merciless Madrid of the Bernabéu are a very different proposition on the road. Far too different.