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Barcelona’s Goalscoring Troubles Against Granada Should Not Worry Catalan Giants
- Updated: October 30, 2016
CAMP NOU, Barcelona — This was not a good performance. Or a bad one. Just a decent one, which was settled by a spectacular goal from Rafinha.
Barcelona beat Granada 1-0 on Saturday night, and it was difficult to know what to make of the game. The hosts couldn’t be criticised because they dominated the game, stopped the Andalusians from getting anywhere close to scoring and took all three points home.
Then again, it was a frustrating display where individual mistakes—particularly when it came to finishing—stopped Barcelona from getting the sort of result fans are accustomed to racking up against lowly visitors.
Granada played 5-4-1 and sat deep, welcoming Barcelona on but defending resolutely, although had Luis Suarez been wearing his golden boot instead of presenting it to the fans before the game, this would have been the rout it could have been.
But not should have been, because Barcelona only created a few clear chances, instead of the mountain they usually manage.
The best opportunity of the first half was wasted by Suarez, who was sent through on goal by a fine Javier Mascherano pass but inexplicably dilly-dallied instead of pulling the trigger and was caught by the defence.
Luis Enrique sent the team out charged up for the second half, and within three minutes Barcelona were ahead.
Suarez fluffed his lines again, when Lionel Messi fed him, but Rafinha nudged the ball on to Neymar, who hit the post. When the rebound flew into the air, Rafinha was there again to acrobatically power it home.
One moment of quality from the midfielder, and that was enough to win the game. Suarez, again, and Messi missed chances towards the end that could have made the game safe, but in the end it did not matter.
“It wasn’t a brilliant game on our part, but it falls within the normal range,” said Luis Enrique afterwards. “These type of games need freshness and finesse, we lacked those at times.”
That was in part the coach’s fault for allowing several squad members four days off, although he shouldn’t be blamed for that because an extra rest could pay huge dividends later in the season—or even as soon as Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Manchester City.
Messi went to Disneyland with his family, while Sergi Roberto enjoyed London from Camden market to Harrods, as the players were able to enjoy some breathing space …
