Granada vs. Barcelona: Score, Reaction from 2016 La Liga Game

Barcelona claimed the La Liga title on the final matchday of the season with a 3-0 win over Granada at Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes on Saturday.

The vital three points secured Barca back-to-back domestic trophies after beating fierce rivals Real Madrid to the title by one point following their challengers’ 2-0 win over Deportivo La Coruna.

The must-win encounter was settled with two first-half goals by Luis Suarez, as Luis Enrique’s side professionally saw out the remainder of the contest under little pressure from Granada before the Uruguayan netted his third of the day with less than five minutes remaining.

Gerard Pique had the first big chance of the game on seven minutes, as the central defender met Neymar’s bent free-kick at the back post but saw his header parried off the goal line by Andres Fernandez.

The Granada stopper was brought into action again just three minutes later, as he tipped Lionel Messi’s curled effort from outside the area over the crossbar.

With title rivals Real playing their final match of the season simultaneously against Deportivo, Barca lost ground in their quest for the Liga trophy after Cristiano Ronaldo put Los Blancos ahead inside the opening 15 minutes.

Enrique’s side continued to dominate ball retention throughout the early stages and worked hard to quickly regain possession whenever Granada took control.

Neymar was receiving close attention from the opposition back-four, with a crunching challenge from David Lomban within the opening 90 seconds a sign of things to come for the remainder of his afternoon. 

However, the Brazilian would play a big part in Barca breaking the deadlock on 22 minutes, as Suarez put the visitors ahead following a devastating move.

Neymar calmly fed Jordi Alba the ball down the left-flank before the young wing-back played a first-time square pass directly across the six-yard box to leave the unmarked Uruguayan a simple tap-in.

Barca’s official account provided a graphic to demonstrate their side’s great buildup play:

???????? Suárez’s goal that has opened the scoring in Granada – a great team move! #GranadaFCB #fcblive pic.twitter.com/GKcoM6f0fY

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) May 14, 2016

Sky Sports’ Spanish football expert Guillem Balague praised Barca’s tempo and display before moving ahead:

Barcelona very sharp. Lots of movement off the ball. Very switched on

— Guillem Balague (@GuillemBalague) May 14, 2016

Meanwhile, ESPN’s Dermot Corrigan placed Suarez alongside two iconic goalscorers:

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