Barcelona got here from two objectives behind to grab a point away at a spirited Granada on Sunday night.
Granada had taken a 2-0 lead within the sport due to a improbable 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 ultimately bagged an equalising goal by means of substitute Sergi Roberto within the eighty fifth minute.
The draw sees Barcelona fall to 3 factors behind table-toppers Real Madrid heading into the worldwide break.
How the sport unfolded
Amazingly, throughout the first 20 seconds of the sport, Granada took the lead. Yes, you learn that proper: throughout the first 20 seconds of the sport.
The goal 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 arduous 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 the hunt for an equaliser, they started to go away an increasing number of gaps within the defensive third – gaps that had 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 reduce, 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 had been capable of finding a option to scale back the deficit by means of starlet Lamine Yamal. After Joao Felix bulldozed his manner by means of a sea of Granada gamers within the field, the Portugal worldwide fired a shot on goal that was palmed Ferreira into the trail of Yamal, who tapped into an empty web.
Barca would push ahead with actual intent in the hunt for the equaliser initially of the second half and, relatively extremely, had been denied it by Ferreira within the 68th minute. A intelligent header again throughout goal from substitute Ronald Araujo was latched onto by Ferran Torres proper in the midst of the six-yard field. His subsequent effort on goal was, disappointingly for Barca, straight at Ferreira who was capable of simply forestall the ball from crossing the road along with his mid-riff.
Torres turned supplier for Araujo shortly after, when the ex-Man City man performed the ball to the defender on the sting of the penalty space. Araujo’s drilled effort on goal nevertheless, spun simply huge of the foot of the precise publish.
After huffing and puffing for 40 minutes, the guests lastly bought their equaliser within the eighty fifth minute. The goal 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.
Almost straight from kick-off, Granada got here inside a millimetre of restoring their lead. Zaragoza as soon as once more triggered havoc for the Barca backline along with his highly effective operating, storming down the right-hand aspect earlier than cannoning the ball off the publish.
In the 92nd minute, Barca thought that they had accomplished the turnaround by means of Felix. The loanee raced in behind the Granada backline to latch onto a surprising cross from Joao Cancelo to go the ball into the web. After a VAR overview, the goal was dominated out on account of Felix being deemed to have been offside within the construct up.
GK: Marc-Andre ter Stegen – 5/10 – Perhaps may have accomplished higher with Granada’s opening goal.
RB: Joao Cancelo – 6/10 – Got ahead nicely however caught out a number of occasions defensively.
CB: Jules Kounde – 4/10 – Turned inside out within the lead as much as the second goal, then subbed off with an damage earlier than the top of the half.
CB: Andreas Christensen – 5/10 – He battle to get close to Zaragoza all sport.
LB: Alejandro Balde – 7/10 – Provided an important help for Roberto’s leveller.
CM: Gavi – 5/10 – Dispossessed manner too simply within the lead as much as the opening goal.
CM: Ilkay Gundogan – 6/10 – Used the ball nicely in the midst of the park.
CM: Fermin Lopez – 5/10 – A quiet outing for the teen.
RW: Lamine Yamal – 7/10 – Scored the goal that made him the youngest goalscorer in La Liga historical past and introduced his staff again from the useless on Sunday.
ST: Ferran Torres – 5/10 – He’s not precisely Robert Lewandowski, is he? Torres did not successfully lead the road within the Polish star’s absence.
LW: Joao Felix – 7/10 – Forced a gap for Barca’s first goal of the sport. He was very, very energetic in any respect time and was at all times trying 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 had 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.
Manager – 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.
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