Barcelona got here from two targets behind to grab some extent away at a spirited Granada on Sunday night.
Granada had taken a 2-0 lead within the recreation because of a implausible brace from Bryan Zaragoza within the opening half-hour, earlier than Lamine Yamal decreased arrears in added time of the primary half by turning into the youngest goalscorer in La Liga historical past.
Barca dominated the second half, as anticipated, and finally bagged an equalising aim by means of substitute Sergi Roberto within the eighty fifth minute.
The draw sees Barcelona fall to a few factors behind table-toppers Actual Madrid heading into the worldwide break.
How the sport unfolded
Amazingly, inside the first 20 seconds of the sport, Granada took the lead. Sure, you learn that proper: inside the first 20 seconds of the sport.
The aim would come courtesy of Bryan Zaragoza who, after latching onto a by means of ball from Lucas Boyes on the right-hand aspect of the penalty space, fired low and onerous into the far nook of the web.
As anticipated, Barca plowed ahead with actual intent thereafter, with Gavi forcing Andre Ferreira into a sensible save with an effort from the sting of the field, and Joao Felix heading over the crossbar from a nook kick.
As Barca pushed gamers ahead in quest of an equaliser, they started to depart an increasing number of gaps within the defensive third – gaps that have been exploited within the twenty eighth minute by Granada to make it 2-0.
Zaragoza was as soon as once more the goalscorer for the house aspect, bursting in behind the Barca defence earlier than tying Jules Kounde in knots with a in the reduction of, then coolly firing into the highest nook with the surface of his proper foot.
In added time on the finish of the primary half, Barcelona have been capable of finding a method to scale back the deficit by means of starlet Lamine Yamal. After Joao Felix bulldozed his method by means of a sea of Granada gamers within the field, the Portugal worldwide fired a shot on aim that was palmed Ferreira into the trail of Yamal, who tapped into an empty internet.
Barca would push ahead with actual intent in quest of the equaliser at first of the second half and, moderately extremely, have been denied it by Ferreira within the 68th minute. A intelligent header again throughout aim from substitute Ronald Araujo was latched onto by Ferran Torres proper in the midst of the six-yard field. His subsequent effort on aim was, disappointingly for Barca, straight at Ferreira who was capable of simply stop the ball from crossing the road together with his mid-riff.
Torres turned supplier for Araujo shortly after, when the ex-Man Metropolis man performed the ball to the defender on the sting of the penalty space. Araujo’s drilled effort on aim nonetheless, spun simply large of the foot of the fitting put up.
After huffing and puffing for 40 minutes, the guests lastly acquired their equaliser within the eighty fifth minute. The aim would come courtesy of substitute Sergi Roberto, who stormed in unmarked within the field to flick dwelling a low Alejandro Balde cross from the left flank.
Virtually straight from kick-off, Granada got here inside a millimetre of restoring their lead. Zaragoza as soon as once more induced havoc for the Barca backline together with his highly effective operating, storming down the right-hand aspect earlier than cannoning the ball off the put up.
Within the 92nd minute, Barca thought they’d accomplished the turnaround by means of Felix. The loanee raced in behind the Granada backline to latch onto a shocking cross from Joao Cancelo to go the ball into the web. After a VAR overview, the aim was dominated out attributable to Felix being deemed to have been offside within the construct up.
GK: Marc-Andre ter Stegen – 5/10 – Maybe may have accomplished higher with Granada’s opening aim.
RB: Joao Cancelo – 6/10 – Acquired ahead effectively however caught out a number of instances defensively.
CB: Jules Kounde – 4/10 – Turned inside out within the lead as much as the second aim, then subbed off with an harm earlier than the tip of the half.
CB: Andreas Christensen – 5/10 – He battle to get close to Zaragoza all recreation.
LB: Alejandro Balde – 7/10 – Supplied an important help for Roberto’s leveller.
CM: Gavi – 5/10 – Dispossessed method too simply within the lead as much as the opening aim.
CM: Ilkay Gundogan – 6/10 – Used the ball effectively in the midst of the park.
CM: Fermin Lopez – 5/10 – A quiet outing for the teenager.
RW: Lamine Yamal – 7/10 – Scored the aim that made him the youngest goalscorer in La Liga historical past and introduced his workforce again from the useless on Sunday.
ST: Ferran Torres – 5/10 – He isn’t precisely Robert Lewandowski, is he? Torres did not successfully lead the road within the Polish star’s absence.
LW: Joao Felix – 7/10 – Pressured a gap for Barca’s first aim of the sport. He was very, very lively in any respect time and was at all times searching for methods to carve the Granada defence open.
Substitutes
SUB: Ronald Araujo (’45 for Kounde) – 6/10 – Made loads of contributions within the opposition penalty field whereas Granada have been penned in.
SUB: Sergi Roberto (’61 for Lopez) – 7/10 – Scored the equaliser on the evening.
SUB: Oriol Romeu (76′ for Yamal) – N/A.
Supervisor – Xavi Hernandez – 5/10 – Granada shone a light-weight on some weaknesses in Xavi’s tactical set-up, with Barca trying very prone to fast counter assaults on Sunday night.
