Barcelona staged a dramatic comeback against Granada at the Los Cármenes Stadium coming back from two goals down until the dying moments of regulation time to winning the game by five goals to three. The Catalans have successfully cemented their place into the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey competition.
Antoine Griezmann inspired Barcelona’s comeback with two goals and two assists on the night. Jordi Alba too scored twice and assisted one goal for Antoine Griezmann. Frenkie de Jong got himself on the scoresheet as well as he scored Barca’s fourth goal of the evening.
The two teams were inseparable at the end of 90 minutes and an additional thirty minutes were needed to settle the fixture. Here’s how Ronald Koeman’s team rated in their victory against Granada.
Barcelona Player Ratings Against Granada
Barcelona Player Ratings Against Granada
GK: Marc Andre Ter Stegen – 6/10
Stegen would be utterly disappointed with his performance in the Cup this evening. The goalie could have barely done anything about the three goals he conceded.
RB: Sergi Roberto – 7/10
Hobbled off the pitch in the second half with an injury problem. Roberto had a satisfactory evening at the right-back position. Sergino Dest replaced Roberto in the 57th minute of the game.
CB: Ronald Araujo – 7/10
A good strong performance from Araujo at the back. The defender was severely let down by his partner for the night, Samuel Umtiti.
CB: Samuel Umtiti – 5/10
Awful evening at the back for Barcelona by Samuel Umtiti. The defender made two massive defensive slip ups which could have cost Barcelona the tie. Martin Braithwaite replaced Umtiti in the second half.
LB: Jordi Alba – 8/10
A satisfactory evening from Alba who seemed a bit more serious about his defensive duties and went about his attacking duties with ease. The fullback scored the pivotal goal in stoppage time to pull Barcelona level. Alba then returned the favour to Antoine Griezmann as he set up Barcelona’s third goal of the night. To add to his eventful night, Alba scored a sizzling volley to take Barca’s goal tally to 5.
CM: Frenkie De Jong – 7/10
Frenkie tried hard to make things work for Barcelona from midfield. De Jong tried to inspire his side with a few delicate touches but with no result.
CM: Sergi Busquets – 7/10
Busquets seemed a bit slow to the pace of the game and also made some risky passes around his own penalty box. A lot more was expected out of the veteran Spaniard on this trip to Granada.
CM: Pedri – 7/10
Pedri generated the goods from midfield for Ronald Koeman’s side and pulled his team beyond the finish line with bursts of energy throughout the game. Pedri made way for Lenglet for the last 15 minutes of the game.
RW: Francisco Trincao – 7/10
The Portuguese attacker was lively and vibrant down the right-hand side. Trincao was rather unlucky and hit the woodwork with his dazzling strike in the second half. Dembele replaced the youngster in the 63rd minute of the game.
ST: Lionel Messi – 8/10
A lengthy evening for Lionel Messi who was made to work hard for the ball. The striker assisted Barcelona’s opening goal of the night and led the Barcelona comeback against Granada by example. The Argentine was yellow-carded in the first half for a poorly timed challenge.
LW: Antoine Griezmann – 9/10
The Frenchman was unlucky as his acrobatic effort in the dying moments of regulation time got saved. Moments later, Griezmann scored with another acrobatic slide that put the ball into the net, off the goalie’s hands. Griezmann than assisted Jordi Alba’s stoppage-time goal before scoring his second in extra time of the tie. This duo further weaved their magic down the right-hand side with a second assist by Griezmann for Alba. An inspirational performance from the World Cup winner in the Quarter Finals of the Copa del Rey.
Substitutes
RB: Sergino Dest – 7/10
Dest went about his business calm and composed as ever. The defender was on the receiving end of a harsh referee decision leading to a penalty that Granada scored from and drew level at 3-3.
RW: Ousmane Dembele – 7/10
Unlucky to have struck the crossbar in regulation time. Dembele was a vibrant presence on the field of play post his introduction around the hour mark.
ST: Martin Braithwaite – 7/10
Koeman put on Braithwaite when Barcelona desperately needed a goal. It somewhat did the trick for the Cules who committed large numbers forward, crowding the Granada penalty box in the process.
CM: Riqui Puig – 6/10
Did not have much involvement with play post his introduction.
CB: Clement Lenglet – 6/10
Did not have much involvement with play post his introduction.
