Barcelona lose 2-1 against Granada to intensify the La Liga title race

Barcelona lose 2-1 against Granada to intensify the La Liga title race

Granada emerge 2-1 winners over Barcelona

Barcelona suffered a 2-1 defeat against Granada in La Liga and missed their chance of going in top of the La Liga table for the first time this season. Granada came from behind in the second half to earn a memorable win and intensified an already close title race in Spain.

Lionel Messi’s 26th goal of the season was cancelled out for Granada by Machis in the second half and Jorge Molina scored the winning goal in the 80th minute of the match.

Barcelona missed their chance of moving to the top of La Liga for the first time this season

Messi scored the opening goal of the match

FC Barcelona enjoyed plenty of possession in the opening moments of the match as Granada sat back and defended for long spells. Lionel Messi finally provided the breakthrough for the Blaugranas in the 23rd minute putting end to a fine team move.

FS Video

Barcelona continued to enjoy plenty of the ball but failed to add onto their advantage as the Granada keeper kept his side by making a number of good saves. As Barcelona failed to hold onto their chances Granada finally earned their moment in the 63rd minute when Machis scored the equalizer.

Mingueza failed to clear out a through pass and the ball fell kindly for the Granada forward, who slipped in his finish beyond the diving hands of Ter-Stegen. To make things worse, a few minutes later coach Ronald Koeman saw a direct red card and consequently sent into the stands for arguing with the referee’s decision.

Granada player celebrating their win

Granada dealt the telling blow in the 79th minute as Jorge Molina saw his header thunder into the back post. Barcelona finished the match with 81 percent possession but could only manage 5 shots on target and failed to score in the final few minutes of the match.

The loss to Barcelona means that Atletico Madrid still enjoy their 2 point lead at the top of La Liga. The top-4 teams Atletico, Real, Barcelona and Sevilla all have a chance to win the title this season.

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