21.
9:23 p.m
Great action from Gavi! He first prevails over Ignasi Miquel with a body deception and can shoot from half-right from 18 meters. He does that too. The shot demands a little more from André Ferreira in goal, but he is still able to parry.
18.
9:21 p.m
Gündoğan also takes this corner kick. In the middle, João Félix gets the ball again and can head it. However, he doesn’t get enough pressure behind the ball and heads well over it.
17.
9:19 p.m
João Félix, almost by chance, gets Barca’s first chance from seven meters in the penalty area. Beforehand, two defenders shoot each other and the ball goes to the visitors’ striker. He turns and finishes centrally in front of the goal. André Ferreira in goal is right there and clears the shot for a corner.
16.
9:17 p.m
Barca slowly takes over the game and lets the ball run through their own ranks. However, there is still a lot of space gained. Now João Cancelo takes the first corner kick, which Gündoğan took weakly and can be cleared.
13.
9:15 p.m
What makes things even more difficult is that the field was watered so much right before the game started that there are currently small puddles on many parts of the field.
10.
9:12 p.m
In the Andalusians’ system it looks very much like a five-man defense. That could pose problems for the Blaugrana. But Barcelona still has enough time to get its stars into the game.
7.
9:10 p.m
The guests still have to get here and deal with the early setback. Granada are really good at it and have managed to keep Barca out of the dangerous areas so far.
4.
9:06 p.m
After a hand-stopped 15 seconds, FC Granada brings the already outstanding atmosphere to a boil. Barcelona seem to be a bit surprised by the hosts’ pressing.
1.
9:02 p.m
Tooor for Granada CF, 1-0 by Bryan Zaragoza
Lightning start for the hosts! After kick-off for Barca, Gavi is put under direct pressure by Boyé and Villar. Villar takes the ball from him and Boyé puts it straight down the alley to Bryan Zaragoza. He moves into the penalty area on the right and shoots from 13 meters to the far corner. The ball bounces again, goes past Ter Stegen and hits. That was less than 30 seconds before the newcomer took the lead.
1.
9:02 p.m
The referee, César Soto Grado, approves the match. Here we go!
8:50 p.m
The warm-up programs of both teams are coming to an end and the players are gradually leaving the field again towards the changing rooms.
8:33 p.m
Xavi reacted to this injury misery and nominated two players for today’s squad: Pau Víctor (2nd team) and Marc Guiu (U19). Ferran Torres, Andreas Christensen and starting eleven debutant Fermín López slide into the starting lineup. Ronald Araújo and Oriol Romeu are initially on the bench. As already described, Lewandowski is not there due to injury.
8:31 p.m
On the other hand, FC Barcelona have two hard-fought games, each with narrow 1-0 wins against FC Sevilla in the league and FC Porto in the Champions League. Coach Xavi thinks these two hard-fought wins can give the team a big boost of confidence. However, the Catalans’ head coach will have to do without some of his regular staff today. Pedri and Frenkie de Jong are missing in midfield, and striker Raphinha is also out. Robert Lewandowski also injured his ankle in Porto during the week. This leaves the team with only two real strikers: Ferran Torres and Joao Felix.
8:18 p.m
The newcomer from FC Granada is currently second to last in the table with just one win and five points. Recently there have been two draws, including last weekend in a wild game against bottom-placed Almeria, where a 3-0 half-time deficit (the three goals conceded came within five minutes) was turned into a 3-3 draw. Perhaps this could be the starting signal needed for a successful series for the Andalusians from the Moorish city. With a win today we can even move out of the relegation places. But no one will necessarily expect that when the great FC Barcelona are guests at the Estadio Los Cármenes. Even if the Blaugrana traditionally often have problems against Granada. Coach Paco López, who has been in office for almost eleven months, has to do without his number 1 in goal, Raúl Fernández (surgery on his finger), today. Víctor Díaz is also missing (knee injury). In total, López changes his starting eleven to four positions: Miguel Rubio, Uzuni, Gonzalo Villar and Álvaro Fernández start today.
8:08 p.m
Before the ball rests again in La Liga next weekend due to the next international break, FC Barcelona wants to catch up with Real Madrid in the table and climb to second place. The Whites are currently in first place with a four point lead, while Barca are currently in third place. In between yesterday came the surprise team of the season from FC Girona. On the other side of the table is today’s hosts Granada FC. The Andalusians are in 19th place with five points and want to try to get their second home win of the season today. The Estadio Nuevo Los Cármenes will be completely sold out with almost 20,000 spectators in the best weather (almost 23 degrees and sun).
19:59
A warm welcome and a nice Sunday evening at the end of the 9th matchday in the Spanish La Liga. From 9:00 p.m. FC Granada welcomes the star ensemble from FC Barcelona.