After a wild and extremely disappointing 3-3 draw against Granada at the Montjuïc Olympic Stadium on Sunday night, Barcelona will conclude the weekend in third place in the La Liga table, 10 points behind Real Madrid. The second-worst club in the league earned a well-earned point in Catalonia as a result of Barcelona’s terrible play throughout the whole game and multiple mistakes committed both with and without the ball. This virtually ended Barca’s chances of winning the championship.
Barcelona Vs Granada: First Half of the Game
From the start, Granada displayed a brilliant game plan both in and out of possession. They made life miserable for Barcelona for the full forty-five minutes by applying precise high pressure and fast, cutting passes that led to dangerous attacks.
Despite having greater possession of the ball, Barcelona was unable to penetrate the Granada press because of numerous long passes that were squandered and numerous midfield errors that put pressure on the sidelines. Throughout the entire time, ball advancement was a major problem, and the double pivot of Andreas Christensen and Frenkie de Jong seldom saw any of the ball.
However, Barca managed to take the lead in the 14th minute when Lamine Yamal, alone at the far post, was set up for an easy volley and the first goal thanks to a cross by João Cancelo. After that, the Catalans produced zero until over thirty minutes had passed. Yamal then launched a counterattack, which culminated with Robert Lewandowski seemingly certain to score, but Martin Hongla brilliantly cleared the goal line to deny it.
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Soon after, right-back Ricard Sánchez scored a very excellent equalizer to bring the score to a draw, after a brilliant performance by Granada. Facundo Pellistri’s cross found Sánchez all alone inside the box.
With the second-worst team in La Liga, Barça was fortunate to be winning at the half after being the second-best in every category. More effort and superior ball handling would be required if the home team hoped to win the game with all three points in the second half.
Barcelona Vs Granada: Second Half of the Game
In the second half, Granada dropped deeper into a low block to try and use a well-coordinated defensive structure to frustrate Barça in the last third of the game. In the opening minutes of the half, the Catalans had finally had more possession of the ball in the visitors’ half, but they were unable to create any genuine opportunities.
Then, as the second half approached the hour mark, a five-minute period of chaos began: Granada took the lead when Pau Cubarsí mishandled a fairly straightforward cross inside the box, and the ball fell to Myrto Uzuni, who gave Pellistri the easiest of tap-ins at the far post to put the away team ahead; Barça immediately responded, though, with a brilliant pass from Cancelo and an incredible assist by Ilkay Gündogan to find Lewandowski for the equalizer, but Granada took the lead again in ninety seconds later when Ignasi Miquel headed it home off the post.
After a difficult sequence finally ignited the game, Barça had just twenty minutes remaining plus stoppage time to score two late goals and win. Xavi made a brave switch with Raphinha replacing João Cancelo at left-back, and the Brazilian needed only five minutes to have an effect.
The equalizer came about thanks to a cross by Raphinha. Yamal grabbed the ball from José Callejón at the edge of the box and scored a stunning goal from 25 yards to tie the score three times and give Barça a chance to win with ten minutes remaining. Marc Guiu replaced Pedri in Xavi’s final change attempt in an attempt to win it in stoppage time, but Guiu lost a great opportunity when he headed inside the six-yard box and it went over the bar.
A very frustrating and significant night for the Blaugrana’s title campaign came to an end with that one and only opportunity Barça created in over nine minutes of additional time. Xavi will step down from his position in the summer having never defeated Barça as Granada has now extended their winning run against them in La Liga to five games.