Antonio Puertas (R) celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal during the match between Granada FC and FC Barcelona at Nuevo Los Carmenes stadium in Granada on January 8, 2022. (Photo by JORGE GUERRERO / AFP) (Photo by JORGE GUERRERO/AFP via Getty Images)
Barcelona once again lose a lead late and are forced to settle for a draw
Luuk de Jong scored his second LaLiga goal in as many games but it wasn’t enough as Barcelona drew 1-1 away to Granada.
The Catalan side pulled ahead in the second half thanks to sublime cross from Dani Alves to De Jong who managed to break free of his mark and head past the keeper.
The Dutch striker had come close to finding the back of the net in the first half and did so before his goal was chalked off as Gavi was deemed offside in the build up.
Barcelona were doing well in keeping possession and asserting a semblance of control. Things changed once Xavi subbed out Jutgla and De Jong for Abde and Memphis Depay.
He wanted to catch Granada on the break and seal the win but the two players, one coming off an injury and the other coming off Covid, looked rusty.
Memphis saw any chances of him having an impact on the game flushed out when Gavi, also back from Covid, himself picked up a second yellow card and was expelled. Gavi picking up a second caution was only a matter of time as Barcelona had long since lost control and were being over run in midfield.
That pressure by Granada saw two Barcelona players misplace their pass which resulted in Gavi feeling like he needed to make a lunging challenge to get the ball back.
Barcelona were left with 10 men for the last 11 minutes and Granada made the most of it.
Antonio Puertas equalized for the home side off a corner that saw the ball ricochet off Sergio Busquets and land to Puertas who coolly angled his shot past Marc-Andre ter Stegen who could do nothing but watch.
Granada were unable to find a winner and Barcelona saw another game get away from them. It’s been a trademark from the Catalans for the last couple of seasons.
Any bit of adversity and the team crumbles. In this match, it was Pique throwing himself into tackles despite already being on a booking or Jordi Alba lunging to try to clear a ball only to miss completely.
The draw sees Barcelona in sixth place as they missed out on a huge opportunity to climb as high as third and in Champions League places.
They won’t play another game in the league for a while as they now take part in the Spanish Super Cup against Real Madrid midweek. Should they win, they’ll play for a title on Sunday. After that, it’s a Copa del Rey fixture away to Athletic Bilbao.
There are some daunting fixtures ahead as Xavi still has plenty of work to do despite some progress. Controlling the end of the game should be atop his list. Fortunately for him and the club, he should be recuperating the likes of Pedri, Ansu Fati and perhaps Ferran Torres in the process.
