Leo Messi rescues Barcelona from Granada’s bewitchment

Messi hasn’t been to Granada too many times and for the Argentine it was virgin territory concerning scoring goals. As usual, Messi was up for the challenge and wanted to prove that he could find the net in Granada. The Argentine beat the challenge with a brace of goals that gave the victory to a Barcelona team (1-2) that suffered for it. Jordi Roura warned his team that he hadn’t come to see the sights. However, neither coach Lucas Alcaraz nor frontman Ighalo were prepared to let Barcelona have it all their own way.

The Nigerian striker scored in the 26^th minute in a piece of gameplay that is shaping this new Granada side.

The type of football that is going to get Granada out of the trouble and away from the drop zone is orderly and very effective. Aranda has finally shown the home crowd what it’s like to see some good crossing of the ball, Nolito for his great detail and Ighalo for his goals.

Barcelona had problems with the Andalusian defence. The slow movement of the ball made it complicated for the Catalans to try and find holes in the defence. Dani Alves managed to get a few balls into the centre and Chilean Alexis, on the left, collected a bagful of missed opportunities.

The Barcelona coaching staff saw fit to rest Puyol, Iniesta and Jordi Alba ahead of the European clash with A.C Milan. However, Roura had to bring on Alba for Adriano just before half time as a preventive measure as the number 21 felt some discomfort in the hamstring of his right leg.

There were a few decisions that warranted a raised eyebrow but Barca was not to be caught up in the debate of the possible controversial decisions by the referee.

Barcelona, faced with adversity and a tiring opposition, insisted on pressing forward and relied on the game play of Cesc to get them out of trouble. Toño parried a magnificent shot from Cesc just outside the box, only for the ball to come out and land at Messi’s feet who slotted the ball home on 50 minutes. Messi thus scored at Los Cármenes stadium and has scored in fourteen straight games in La Liga. Messi’s second of the evening in the 73^rd minute took Messi’s goal tally to 301 goals in a Barcelona shirt.

“We forced Barcelona to the limit,” said Granada coach Lucas Alcaraz after the match.

It wasn’t a bad test for both teams considering what the calendar has scheduled for them. Granada will play Celta Vigo next week in a vital game that could decide whether Granada stays up or goes down and Barcelona meet A.C Milan on Wednesday for their first leg round 16 clash in the Champions League in Milan.