Granada boys top La Liga ahead of Barcelona

Promoted Granada continued their stunning start to the season by climbing above Barcelona to the top of La Liga on Sunday after beating Real Betis 1-0 for a fourth consecutive home win.

Former Betis forward Alvaro Vadillo struck the only goal of the game just after the hour mark, tucking the ball inside the near post with one touch to complete a quick counter-attack.

Granada top the standings on 20 points after 10 games, one clear of second-placed Barcelona who have a game in hand after the ‘Clasico’ against Real Madrid, originally scheduled for Saturday, was postponed until December due to security concerns.

Betis struggled to create many chances and the closest they came to scoring was when Sergio Canales hit the bar from a free-kick late on. They are 18th in the standings on nine points after the third defeat in four games.

Granada, who returned to the top flight after a two-year absence, now have the same number of points as they did for the entirety of the 2016-17 season when they finished bottom.

They spent seven million euros on new recruits in the postseason and have a budget of 35 million, the third-lowest in the league. Barca spent 255 million on new signings and have a budget of 671 million.