Granada CF held on for a hard-fought 1–0 victory against Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa on matchday 35 of the Segunda División, with an early penalty from Rubén Alcaraz ultimately deciding a match marked by disciplinary drama.
The hosts struck the decisive blow in the 5th minute. Awarded a penalty, Granada entrusted Alcaraz with the responsibility, and he converted to put his side 1–0 up. That early goal, reflected in the final scoreline, forced Cultural Leonesa to chase the game from the outset.
The opening half was already tense, with the visitors collecting bookings for Víctor García (4′) and Yayo (19′). Granada were not immune to cautions either, as Bambo Diaby saw yellow in the 33rd minute, followed by a flurry of cards just before the break for Diego Collado (Leonesa) and Loic Williams (Granada).
The second half turned increasingly chaotic. Granada went down to ten men in the 64th minute when Baila Diallo was shown a straight red card. Cultural seemed briefly poised to take advantage, but four minutes later they lost Víctor García to a second booking and subsequent dismissal, restoring numerical parity.
Granada made several changes to manage the game, including the introductions of Álvaro Lemos, Jorge Pascual, Diego Hormigo, Sergio Ruiz and Trigueros. Cultural replied with a triple change around the 58th minute and further substitutions as they searched for an equaliser, bringing on Quique Fornos, Rubén Sobrino, Víctor Moreno, Selu Diallo and Manu Justo.
The closing stages remained fractious. Álvaro Lemos, Sergio Ruiz and Manu Lama all picked up yellow cards for Granada, before late substitute Pascual was sent off in the 90th minute, leaving the hosts with nine men for stoppage time. Despite the numerical disadvantage, Granada protected Alcaraz’s early strike to secure all three points.
Only key events such as goals, cards and substitutions were available at the time of writing. Detailed match statistics and further context can be found on the full match page on Ballaxy.
Comments