FC Barcelona vs Granada CF match report

The game started as expected with Barca pushing forward from the beginning but the first real chance fell to Granada with just 9 minutes on the clock with a shot from Antonio Floro Flores that didn’t give keeper Valdés any problems.

Granada seemed to be well organized at the back and had good formation which didn’t give Barca any opportunities to break through. David Villa was caught offside but looking at the replay he was clearly on. It was a shame as he was in a great position to score.

For the first 20 minutes Messi was pretty quiet until he broke loose to find Cesc to his left who struck the ball straight at the keeper. He would be kicking himself for that miss!

On 27 minutes Messi had a great run at the Granada defense which ended with a shot at goal from Thiago which went wide to the keeper’s right. Messi seemed to be annoyed with him as the Argentine was in a better position.

Granada were resorting to counter attack play as Barca continued to dominate with their football. On one break, Siqueira was found by a nice pass by Brahimi on the left flank but hit the ball a bit too high with Valdés managing to get a hand on it.Drama over, Barca continued to push forward with 15 minutes of the first half to go. All Granada’s blue and white shirts could be seen in their own half, amazing!

Messi continued to warn Granada and nearly found the net after a set piece which clearly had Granada on the ropes. Number 8 Iñigo López was in charge of cutting out the Argentine’s shot at goal.

Barcelona started to really bring it now and Leo Messi had a flurry of chances and Granada had to really pull the stops out to deal with him! With 42 minutes on the clock Messi finds Thiago again and the shot was blocked – Barca are firing on all four cylinders now.

Messi had a few words with David Villa and the two seemed to be arguing. I think Messi was in a better position and Villa took the shot. Villa alleged to have taken his first shot at goal. Messi seemed to be very annoyed and it’s the first time I have seen the Argentine like this with a team-mate. This just shows how difficult Granada were making this first half for Barca at the Nou Camp. One minute of extra time was added.

With that, the first half ends with 0-0 on the scoreboard.

The second half was got under way by Granada and within a minute Villa was put through by Cesc – offside again! Something tells me that Villa might score tonight. On 47 minutes Xavi, Pedro and Tello started to warm up on the sidelines.

Adriano passed the ball to Villa who took the shot but Granada’s keeper Toño’s reflexes were just too good. Barca seemed to be hogging the Granada area now! On 53 minutes Villa was taken off for Pedro and Xavi came on for Thiago. A bit of a surprise for me as Villa looked like scoring. Barca is moving the ball about freely now and recovering the ball very quickly – a question of time I think.

Barca have complete control of the game but Granada are defending like champions. On 57 minutes Granada made their first change, the Italian Antonio Floro Flores, who ran his heart out, was replaced by El Arabi.

With 15 minutes of the first half gone, Barcelona were still trying to thread their way through the Granada defense. Granada were taking advantage of any loose balls and counter attacking, trying to catch Barca on the hop but it wasn’t happening for them either.

Some great play by Barcelona on 64 minutes nearly sees the Catalans first goal courtesy of Messi assisted by Adriano but his shot was blocked by Siqueira who’s having a great game. This was quickly followed by another superb block, this time from Toño.

More changes for Granada as Torje was substituted by Ortiz. Granada were not giving up and Valdés avoided a goal and gave a corner away to Granada who were capitalizing on the few chances they had. More changes from Tito as Christian Tello came on for Adriano. With 15 minutes left on the referee’s watch, this was end to end stuff and Barca quickly found Pedro who crossed the ball across the area and Cesc just failed to get on the end of it! Granada, desperately trying to change their luck brang on Jaime Romero for one of the best players in the Granada side, Brahimi.

The last ten minutes were frantic, the Barca supporters with their hearts in their mouths. A missed chance by Cesc that could have put the game to bed came on 77 minutes.Two minutes later saw one of the best chances of the game by Xavi go begging – a great save by Toño. Tello started to add variety and depth to the Blaugrana game.

What a game, Alexis tried with a header on 82 minutes but didn’t present any problems for Toño. Granada then went on the counter attack and a great Valdés saved the Catalan’s bacon! A chance by Orellana which was possibly the best chance of the match went begging.

Xavi scored a screecher on 87 minutes that gave Toño no chance. It had to be good to beat him and the shot with the outside of Xavi’s boot hit the top right hand corner of the Granada goal! Awesome stuff! Xavi came on to put this game to bed and he did it in style. Granada were living on borrowed time and if you don’t put away your chances, Barca will punish you that’s for sure.

90 minutes plus 1 minute of extra time saw Barca’s second courtesy of an own goal by Borja Gómez. Some play by Messi ending in a cross by the Argentine was diverted by Gómez into his own net. What a shame, Barca wins by two goals to nil.

That gives Barcelona another 3 points and an extra cushion at the top of the table. Persistance certainly pays off and Barca are one persistant team – they don’t give up and 15 points out of a possible 15 points just proves it.