After falling to Malaga last weekend in a 1-0 score, Barcelona picked up their game this past week in the Champions League against Manchester City, winning 2-1, and also showing everyone that they still belong in the La Liga title run. The Uruguayan striker, Luis Suarez, has been in a phenomenal run scoring back to back goals and finally showing the fans that he is back in form and is worth every penny the Catalans spent on him to bring him from Liverpool during the summer transfer.
We’ve seen another great performance by Ivan Rakitiç as well who was able to not only assist Luis Suarez with a goal but also get a goal behind the net. Barcelona, though, were able to beat Granada 3-1 on Saturday and add another three points to the table to sit two points behind Real Madrid for first place and five points ahead of third place Atlético Madrid.
The first goal of the match came in the 26th minute, when Ivan Rakitiç was able to get it behind Barcelona’s former third string keeper Oier Olazabal. Luis Suarez got a cross from Jordi Alba from midfield and Suarez was able to go around the ball and cross it inside the box. The ball rebounded off a Granada defender’s leg and Rakitiç was able to get the rebound and get it behind the net for the 1-0 lead.
The second goal came in three minutes after the second half kicked off. Luis Suarez got a throw in from Dani Alves, passed it to Rakitiç who then chipped it over to Suarez inside the box. Luis Suarez then went against a defender Dimitri Foulquier and was able to somehow score the goal with the outside of his foot to make it 2-0.
Three minutes later, Marc Bartra brought down Lass Bangoura in the box and Granada was awarded a penalty. Fran Rico went up to take the penalty and go one on one against goalkeeper Claudio Bravo. Rico aimed the ball for the right corner which Bravo guessed but it was not enough as Granada cut the lead in half.
In the 70th minute, Barcelona once again was on the scoreboard thanks to an open net goal for Lionel Messi. Ivan Rakitiç helped Luis Suarez once more, who was on a run to the inside of the box. Suarez received a chip from Rakitiç and then went one on one against the goalkeeper, who got a touch of the ball. This left the net open for Suarez but instead he gifted it to Messi who was offsides, but the assistant referee did not call it and Messi was able to get it inside the net to make it 3-1 with 20 minutes to go in the match.
At the end, Barcelona took the three points in a final score of 3-1 and it could not have been a better performance from the Catalan team. The man of the match goes on to Ivan Rakitiç for assisting Luis Suarez with both plays that led to goals and for also netting one himself in the first half of the game. Barcelona looks to continue their run this coming week when they face Villarreal in the second leg of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday and then face Rayo Vallecano on Sunday for La Liga. Meanwhile Granada faces Malaga on Saturday but with how Malaga has been playing, it looks like Granada might not have a chance.
Photo by: Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno
