Barcelona lose to 39-year-old; red for Koeman

Thursday, April 29, 2021 at 8:51 PM• Daniel Cabot Kerkdijk • Last update: 20:58

Barcelona suffered an expensive defeat in LaLiga on Thursday evening. Ronald Koeman’s team would only lead the Spanish league with a win over Granada, but the visitors from southern Spain left the Camp Nou with a 1-2 victory. After more than an hour of play, Koeman also received a red card and is missing on the bench against his ex-employer Valencia on Sunday. Due to the surprising defeat, Barcelona remains third, with as many points as Real Madrid: 71. Atlético Madrid remains the leader with 73 points. In the second weekend of May, the top players Barcelona – Atlético and Real Madrid – Seville are on the program.

Barcelona dominated the first half from start to finish with no less than 79 percent possession. Despite the predominance on the field, Koeman’s team struggled to create danger against a Granada that made a very solid impression in the back. In the first twenty minutes, Barcelona got no further than a low shot from Antoine Griezmann, who saw how goalkeeper Aarón Escandell reacted well. It turned out to be a precursor to the 1-0 just minutes later.

After a capture by Ilaix Moriba, who was preferred over Pedri, the ball eventually ended up with Messi, who gave it to Griezmann. The Frenchman got rid of his guard wonderfully and gave the ball back to the club top scorer, who outwitted Aarón with a low shot in the far corner. Ten minutes before the end, the Granada goalkeeper prevented Messi from making it 2-0 on a pass from Sergio Busquets. Granada struggled to make its mark on the match in the first 45 minutes and barely came close to Marc-André ter Stegen’s goal area.

Barcelona was also very superior in the first fifteen minutes after the break. Attempts by Griezmann and Sergi Roberto, after preparatory work by Frenkie de Jong, only just missed Aarón’s goal. After just over an hour of play, things went wrong for the Catalans. Luis Suárez turned well away from Samuel Umtiti and saw how Óscar Mingueza was unable to intercept his pass to Darwin Machis. Machis had already run away from Sergi Roberto and shot the ball hard and low past Ter Stegen: 1-1. After a comment from the angry Koeman to the arbitration, he had to back down from referee Pablo González Fuertes a few minutes later.

With Alfred Schreuder as the main responsible, Barcelona tried to respond: Mingueza and Moriba made way for Ousmane Dembélé and Pedri. However, things only got worse for the Catalans. After an excellent cross by Adrián Marín from the left, Jorge Molina, 39 years and 7 days, was able to head in the 1-2 behind Ter Stegen unhindered. Alfredo Di Stéfano (39 years and 223 days) remains narrowly the oldest goalscorer ever at the Camp Nou. Trincao’s raid for Busquets was Barcelona’s last trump card, but the home defeat could no longer be averted.

No. Team M. W. G. V. +/- Pnt
1 Atlético Madrid 33 22 7 4 38 73
2 Real Madrid 33 21 8 4 32 71
3 Barcelona 33 22 5 6 46 71
4 Seville 33 22 4 7 23 70
5 Real Sociedad 33 14 11 8 17 53
6 Real Betis 33 14 8 11 -3 50
7 Villarreal 33 12 13 8 12 49
8 Granada 33 13 6 14 -11 45
9 Athletic Club 33 10 12 11 7 42
10 Celta de Vigo 33 10 11 12 -7 41
11 Osasuna 33 10 10 13 -8 40
12 Levante 33 9 11 13 -8 38
13 Cadiz 33 9 10 14 -21 37
14 Valencia 33 8 12 13 -7 36
15 Getafe 33 8 10 15 -13 34
16 Alavés 33 7 10 16 -21 31
17 Real Valladolid 33 5 15 13 -14 30
18 Elche 33 6 12 15 -20 30
19 Huesca 33 5 12 16 -19 27
20 Eibar 33 4 11 18 -23 23