Barcelona 1-0 Granada: Lionel Messi nets winner after visitors are reduced to 10 men as Quique Setien begins new era with a win
- The home side completely dominated the first half but didn’t manage to make the breakthrough
- Yan Brice Eteki almost gave the visitors a shock lead but his low strike came back off the base of the post
- German Sanchez was then sent off after receiving a second yellow card for a foul on Lionel Messi
- Messi finally broke the deadlock with a cool finish after being teed up by Arturo Vidal’s backheel
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Barcelona may have a new coach but Lionel Messi remains their unquestionable talisman after guiding the Spanish champions to a nervy 1-0 win at home to Granada in La Liga on Sunday in Quique Setien’s first game in charge of the club.
The Argentine struck the only goal in the 76th minute. During a blustery evening at Camp Nou, he fired into the bottom corner to complete a well crafted team move shortly after the visitors had defender German Sanchez sent off.
Barca, who sacked Ernesto Valverde last week despite being La Liga leaders and winning the last two titles by considerable margins, enjoyed 82% of possession but struggled to find their way through a compact Granada who beat them 2-0 in September.
Lionel Messi (L) celebrates after giving Barcelona the lead against Granada at the Nou Camp on Sunday evening
The Argentine produced a cool side-footed finish after being teed up by a clever backheel from midfielder Arturo Vidal
Granada goalkeeper Rui Silva could only watch on as Messi’s well-placed strike made its way into the bottom left corner
The visitors even came close to taking the lead in the second half when Cameroonian Yan Brice Eteki struck the post in a rare foray forward but they eventually caved in after Sanchez picked up a second yellow card and was dismissed for hauling down Messi.
Messi had come closest to scoring for Barca with two powerful yet inaccurate shots either side of halftime but he made no mistake when Arturo Vidal dragged the ball into his path in a slick passing move engineered by substitute Riqui Puig.
The victory took Barca back to the top of La Liga on 43 points after 20 games, ahead of second-placed Real Madrid on goal difference.
Messi is congratulated by his Barcelona team-mates after finally breaking the deadlock in the 76th minute of the game
Messi’s goal saw new manager Quique Setien kick off his Barcelona reign with a hard-fought win days after taking charge
