‘We have made up a lot of points’ says Xabi Alonso after Real go top for now

Real Madrid went top of La Liga with a clean 2-0 win over Granada on Saturday, though Barcelona and Atletico Madrid can retake their position over Real with wins on Sunday.

Cristiano Ronaldo attempts a bicycle kick on Saturday. Andres Kudacki / AP

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti hailed his side’s start to 2014 after they recorded a seventh straight win without conceding a goal for the first time in the club’s 112-year history.

A 2-0 win over Granada thanks to goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday also moved Real clear at the top of La Liga for the first time since May 2012.

Barcelona and Atletico Madrid can both overtake Real with victories over Malaga and Rayo Vallecano respectively on Sunday.

However, Ancelotti believes his side has finally struck the balance between attack and defence that he has been searching for since his arrival at the club last July.

“It is very good to have a record like that. I want to thank all the players because, as I have said before, the team is very focused right now and we are winning the ball back a lot quicker.

“In 2014 the work of everyone has been almost perfect to obtain the record that we have.”

One of the major reasons for Real’s upturn of late has been the superb form of Luka Modric.

The Croatian was once again a driving force in the midfield against Granada and Ancelotti believes he is growing in stature in his second season in the Spanish capital.

“Modric’s biggest quality in the penetration of his passing. At the start of the season he was maybe lacking a little bit in the personality he showed on the pitch.

“Now he is showing more personality and is able to change the tempo of a game.”

It wasn’t such a good afternoon for Modric’s former Tottenham Hotspur teammate Gareth Bale, though, as he had to be withdrawn at half-time after being on the end of a heavy challenge from Jeison Murillo early on.

However, Ancelotti shrugged off fears the Welshman could be sidelined for any significant period of time by saying he expects him to be fit for Tuesday’s Copa del Rey quarter-final, second leg against Espanyol at the Bernabeu.

Madrid go into that match already leading 1-0 from the frist leg and midfielder Xabi Alonso wants to keep their momentum going as their challenge for trophies on three fronts continues.

“There is a long way to go, but we have made up a lot of points and we need to continue in this manner,” he told Spanish TV station Canal Plus.

“We are playing very well, but we can still do better and we need to keep improving and progressing.”

In other La Liga action on Saturday, Villarreal’s march on fourth-place Athletic Bilbao stuttered with a 1-0 away loss to Real Valladolid. Fifth-placed Villarreal had won their last three La Liga matches by a combined 12-3 score, before Jesus Rueda struck for Valladolid before the half on Saturday and Valladolid held on for the clean sheet.

Valladolid had been in relegation territory and are even now only safe on goal difference. Almeria can retake position ahead of them if they beat Getafe at home on Sunday.

Valencia and Espanyol, both mired in the middle of the table, both stayed there on Saturday with a 2-2 draw. Espanyol took the lead three minutes in on Jhon Cordoba’s goal, before Paco Alcacer equalised for Vaalencia four minutes later. Jonas then put Valencia ahead just after the half-hour, and Sergio Garcia equalised for Espanyol this time with a penalty at the half. Then the sides went silent in the second half,

Sevilla also fell 3-2 at home to Levante despite holding a 2-1 lead after 70 minutes. Loukas Vyntra’s 71st-minute leveller and Simao Mate Junior’s 75th-minute winner put Levante on top. Coke Andujar and Ivan Rakitic scored for the hosts.