Real Madrid 'still in it' after crushing Granada to maintain pressure on Atletico in title race


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Real Madrid kept the pressure on Atletico Madrid by thrashing Granada 4-1 on Thursday to reduce the gap to two points at the top of La Liga, with two games left to play.

A draw or defeat for Real Madrid would have given Atletico the chance to win the title on Sunday by beating Osasuna but goals from Luka Modric, Rodrygo, Alvaro Odriozola and Karim Benzema secured a comfortable victory at Los Carmenes.

Atletico could still be crowned champions this weekend if they overcome Osasuna and Real Madrid fail to win away at Athletic Bilbao but the Spanish title race has been full of surprises and still nothing is guaranteed.

"We're still in it," said Real coach Zinedine Zidane. "There are two games left, we have to deliver and today we delivered."

"We can only keep putting pressure on Atletico and hope they don't win both of their games," added goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. "We are close, there is no margin for error."

Even third-placed Barcelona are still in the running, even if Tuesday's 3-3 draw away at Levante leaves them needing an incredible swing of results if they are to overturn a four-point deficit in two games.

The theme of Real Madrid's challenge in recent weeks has been survival, their squad stretched to its limits by injuries and absentees but a particularly youthful team produced a vibrant display to see off a Granada side that earlier this month beat Barca at Camp Nou.

Zidane started three 20-year-olds and a 19-year-old in what was arguably, given the stakes, the club's most important league game of the season and his youngsters delivered.

Miguel Gutierrez, 19, started at right back and gave a spectacular assist for Modric's opener while the 20-year-old Marvin Park played at left back and made the recovery that led to the 20-year-old Rodrygo adding a second.

Zidane has been as loyal as ever to his ageing core this season but necessity has forced him to turn to look elsewhere and it remains to be seen whether he shows more trust in the likes of Miguel and Marvin in future.

"They did well from the start," said Zidane. "They want to play, they want to show their quality and that's what they've done."

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www.greenheartuae.com

Modibodi  

Founded in Australia, Modibodi is now in the UAE with waste-free, reusable underwear that eliminates the litter created by a woman’s monthly cycle, which adds up to approximately 136kgs of sanitary waste over a lifetime.

www.modibodi.ae

The Good Karma Co

From brushes made of plant fibres to eco-friendly storage solutions, this company has planet-friendly alternatives to almost everything we need, including tin foil and toothbrushes. 

www.instagram.com/thegoodkarmaco

Re:told

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Started: established in 2016 and launched in July 2017
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Sector: FinTech, wealth management
Initial investment: $500,000 in seed round 1 in 2016; $2.2m in seed round 2 in 2017; $5m in series A round in 2018; $12m in series B round in 2019; $16m in series C round in 2020 and $25m in series D round in 2021
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She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

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