Barcelona finally performed well in Granada. Jorge Guerrero/AFP
During the ninth day of the Spanish championship this Sunday, Xavi’s players, trailing 2-0, finally played out a draw.
Trailing 2-0 after half an hour, FC Barcelona on Sunday drew with Granada (2-2) on the 9th day of La Liga, allowing Antoine Griezmann’s Atlético Madrid to emerge victorious against Real Sociedad (2-1), and close to She came. Till the stage. Barca are now third in the standings, one point behind neighbors Verona and three behind Real Madrid.
After getting cold feet before the end in the ranking, the Blaugrana experienced a nightmare start to the match, conceding the first goal after only 17 seconds of play. It was the spinning Spanish striker Bryan Zaragoza who sanctioned the Catalans’ first defeat on the ball with a cross and a shot whose rebound deceived Ter Stegen (1st, 1–0). Powerless despite having over 80% of the ball, Xavi’s men, deprived of four key players, Lewandowski, Pedri, De Jong and Raphinha, tried to respond, but efforts from Joao Félix (16th) and Gavi (21st) were saved. Thwarted by the Portuguese goalkeeper. Andre Ferreira.
New record for Yamal
On a counter, Brian Zaragoza continued his celebration by giving himself a double with the outside of the right foot, after eliminating Kounde with a short pull (29th, 2-0). The French defender was forced to give way to Araújo a few minutes later (44th) due to a left knee injury.
It was once again Spanish talent Lamine Yamal who gave Barça hope just before half-time (46th, 2-1) and became the youngest scorer in La Liga history at the age of 16 years and 87 days. But the Catalans came up against Ferreira again, with Torres (69th) and then Gundogan (77th) having the royal players on their line. Sergi Roberto, who had entered the game a few minutes earlier, equalized at 2–2 (86th), preventing his team from suffering its first defeat of the season. Joao Félix even thought he would give Barça three points in extra time (93rd), but Ferran Torres had his goal disallowed for passive offside.
Griezmann (again) decisive
A little earlier in the day, the scorer of a penalty, French international Antoine Griezmann, allowed Atlético Madrid to sign its fourth consecutive victory by dominating his former club Real Sociedad (2-1). A success that allows Atlético to overtake Athletic Bilbao and move back into third place, within two points of FC Barcelona.
The Colchoneros opened the scoring in the 22nd minute thanks to Brazilian full-back Samuel Lino, Koke served well from deep and was rewarded for a good start to the season (1–0). Then, Diego Simeone’s men fell asleep after De Paul (44th) and Axel Witsel (46th) struck twice high above, giving the by then well-controlled Basques a chance to get back into the game . The first alert came on the hour mark, with Mikel Oyarzabal hitting the post (65th), before the Spanish international equalized after winning a one-on-one with Oblak (73rd, 1-1).
But like the two wins against Feyenoord (3-2) and Cadiz (3-2), which came after chasing scores, Atlético showed it had the resources and character. The Colchoneros woke up and pushed for an equaliser, eventually receiving a penalty on a handball from Fernandez, which Griezmann (87th) converted perfectly, giving the Rojiblancos three points.
Betis and Vigo kept under control
In other matches of the evening, Betis Sevilla was held at Alaves (1-1), while Englishman Mason Greenwood scored his first goal since the start to allow Getafe to bring a point back from Vigo (2-2). 2022. He was sidelined by Manchester United after allegations of domestic violence and rape – the charges were later dropped.
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