Cristiano Ronaldo paraded his Ballon d'Or trophy before scoring his league-leading 22nd goal on Saturday, helping Real Madrid to provisionally move top of the Spanish league with a 2-0 win over Granada.

Ronaldo soaked up an ovation from fans in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium as he held up his award for the best player in the world in 2013 before the match, which he then put his stamp on with a pinpoint strike to score in the 56th minute.

Karim Benzema sealed Madrid's ninth straight win in all competitions in the 74th, moments after Ronaldo's deflected free kick clipped the crossbar.

Madrid's Gareth Bale was substituted at halftime after being kicked in the groin early on.

Madrid moved two points above Barcelona and Atletico Madrid before they both play on Sunday.

This was Madrid's first home game since Ronaldo won his second Ballon d'Or on Jan. 13 when he ended Lionel Messi's four-year reign.

Madrid fans greeted Ronaldo with an enormous mosaic stretching across a wide section of seating that read "CR7" — Ronaldo's nickname composed of his initials and shirt number. Ronaldo responded by lifting his award with one hand while waving to his supporters with the other. He then called his teammates and veteran stadium manager Agustin Herrerin to pose with him for photos.

Ronaldo scored his 32nd goal in 28 games overall this season after receiving a pass from Luka Modric, who has established himself as coach Carlo Ancelotti's most reliable midfielder both in attack and defense.

Ronaldo turned with the ball, shuffled to his left, and slotted a left-footed strike inside the post before running to the end-line to bask in his second showering of applause for the day.

Granada never threatened Madrid, while goalkeeper Roberto Fernandez denied Ronaldo's bicycle kick in first-half injury time and got low to save his shot in the 68th.

Ronaldo also participated in Madrid's second goal when he worked a one-two passing combination to free Marcelo, who then squared for Benzema to fire home.

Later, Valencia hosts Espanyol, Villarreal visits Valladolid, and Levante is at Sevilla.

Barcelona hosts Malaga on Sunday while Atletico visits Rayo Vallecano