Barcelona 1-0 Granada | Post-Match Reaction

Barcelona were clearly far from their best against Granada but, fortunately for Lionel Messi and co, an acrobatic Rafinha overhead goal gave them a hard-fought 1-0 victory which lifts them to second place in the La Liga standings.

Barca clearly struggled to break Granada’s packed defensive back-line, mainly due to the Catalans’ own inability to play the ball with enough purpose and fluidity in their attacking third. In fact, Rafinha’s winner only came as a result of one of the very few occasions in which Messi managed to run free through the middle of the park.

Here are what Luis Enrique and some key players had to say after the match:

Luis Enrique:

“I liked the attitude of the team in the final minutes, good pressure after losing the ball so as not to make things complicated. It was not a brilliant game, but it was within what we expected. We played against a very organised team, very compact, with many players behind the ball. We lacked finesse and freshness in certain moments.”

“Most of the games are still to play in the league, but we are on the right path both in La Liga and in the Champions League. There are teams when teams who pressure us high up the field, we manage to get ride this pressure and others when we cannot and we suffer. With teams who play so compact is the same, and today we found it tough.”

Rafinha:

“I have never scored an overhead kick. I am very happy, each day I am getting better and I have more confidence in myself. I can adapt to the positions that the manager wants me to.”


Samuel Umtiti:

“I am happy with my personal situation and with the job the team did today. In matches like today’s, you must maintain possession and control with the ball. Today it was important to maintain defensive solidity which we did not manage at Valencia.”

Denis Suárez:

“In some parts of the game we were not comfortable. They defended with a line of five at the back and four in midfield. We rarely had space which affected us slightly. We were great defensively. Granada did not get to our goal.”

Your views are valued so I will do my best to reply to all comments left below: Were you as happy as Luis Enrique with the team’s performance? Should Rafinha become a regular starter in Andres Iniesta’s absence?