Jose Manuel Pinto |
5.5 |
Minutes played: 90
Touches: 28
Passes: 15
Pass Accuracy: 80%
Shots Faced: 4
Saves Made: 3
Bostjan says: 6.5
Pinto had an eventful game in goal for Barcelona, probably causing a few heart attacks around the world. I can't entirely fault him for the goal allowed, but I also can't shed the feeling that he could've done better, especially considering he was beat short side. At no point in the game Pinto exuded confidence, but he made sure that Barcelona wouldn't drop into a deeper hole than the one they already dug for themselves, making three saves, including a brilliant double save on El-Arabi in the late stages of the game. |
Martin Montoya |
6.1 |
Minutes played: 90
Touches: 84
Passes: 55
Pass Accuracy: 91%
Key Passes: 1
Shots/Shots on Target: 3/1
Tackles: 7
Aerial Duels Won: 1
Interceptions: 4
Fouls: 0
Clearances: 1
Bostjan says: 8.0
This was probably Montoya's best game in Blaugrana colors, but his heroics weren't enough for Barcelona to even win a point. The young right-back was making plays all over his side of the pitch. As a team Barcelona made 16 tackles and Montoya accounted for seven of them. His positioning was excellent throughout the game and in the second half his perfect last ditch sliding tackle prevented Brahimi from doubling Granada's lead. Had Montoya "just" made a similar tackle in the first half this game could've gone in an entirely different direction. Montoya was also very involved in attacking play, always providing a good outlet and even firing off a couple shots on goal. Also, if Neymar and Cesc were in an even remotely decent form, Montoya would've ended the game with two assists to his name. |
Sergio Busquets |
5.0 |
Minutes played: 74
Touches: 56
Passes: 52
Pass Accuracy: 94%
Tackles: 1
Interceptions: 0
Clearances: 2
Aerial Duels Won: 4
Bostjan says: 6.0
Playing at center-back for the first time in a very long time Busquets struggled and looked far from comfortable. On quite a few occasions he lost position which led to confusion and danger for Barcelona. A couple times it was also evident that he wasn't communicating well with the rest of the defensive line. But despite the defensive struggles Busquets had a chance to redeem himself near the one hour mark when he had a great scoring chance from close range, but couldn't get it past the Granada goalkeeper. |
Javier Mascherano |
4.6 |
Minutes played: 90
Touches: 73
Passes: 62
Pass Accuracy: 87%
Tackles: 1
Interceptions: 1
Clearances: 4
Aerial Duels Won: 2
Fouls: 1
Bostjan says: 6.5
The only healthy "center-back" left on the team had a solid game at the back for Barcelona, making several good looking plays. His long passing was a bit off compared to his recent standards, but he came close to springing a teammate on a couple of attempts. In the dying moments the Argentine even moved into the attacking third to help out, but it was all too little too late for Barcelona. |
Adriano Correia |
4.3 |
Minutes played: 67
Touches: 61
Passes: 51
Pass Accuracy: 92%
Shots/Shots on Target: 2/1
Tackles: 0
Interceptions: 0
Clearances: 0
Fouls: 0
Key passes: 3
Bostjan says: 6.0
Adriano had a quiet game both on offense and on defense on the left side of the pitch before he was eventually substituted off in the 67th minute. Apart from straying out of position he had little to no impact on the defensive side of the ball. In the attacking third he tried to create something on a few occasions, but had it not been for a good cross to Montoya one would easily think that the Brazilian didn't do anything noteworthy. Tata Martino surely expected more from Adriano and so did I. |
Alex Song |
4.1 |
Minutes played: 90
Touches: 97
Passes: 87
Pass Accuracy: 94%
Tackles: 5
Interceptions: 0
Shots/Shots on Target: 0/0
Fouls Won: 0
Aerial Duels Won: 1
Turnovers: 1
Key passes: 1
Sam says: 6.0
Song continues to make minor mistakes that eventually lead to Barça’s downfall. For Granada’s goal he elects to dribble with the ball when a simple pass would suffice, he eventually lost the ball and Granada countered to score. His positioning also seemed off as he didn’t get the right blend between contributing to the attack and supporting the defence. It’s harsh to compare him to Busquets but the regular starter plays with much more speed which Song can’t seem to muster. |
Andres Iniesta |
5.5 |
Minutes played: 90
Touches: 101
Passes: 85
Pass Accuracy: 93%
Shots/Shots on Target: 5/0
Turnovers: 1
Key Passes: 2
Successful Dribbles: 3
Interceptions: 1
Sam says: 7.0
Iniesta started the game very quiet and really struggled to leave any impact on the game. The match seem to fly past him but he did grow into the game and eventually become more effective. A few intricate one-twos and a couple of long range efforts were his highlights but he, along with the team, did not have luck on his side. He had the second highest amounts of shots for Barça, but none of them hit the target. Described best by the man himself "We had the chances but we couldn't finish them today." |
Cesc Fabregas |
4.5 |
Minutes played: 90
Touches: 103
Passes: 92
Pass Accuracy: 87%
Shots/Shots on Target: 4/1
Fouls Won: 1
Tackles: 0
Turnovers: 1
Key Passes: 2
Fouls: 0
Sam says: 6.5
Another average game in a concerning long run of bad form for Fàbregas. In stark contrast to his beginning of the season, he seems less willing to burst into the box and will start plays deeper and deeper. Perhaps this is accommodating Messi’s deeper position but it seems to hamper his game. As someone with a bit more physicality he could’ve helped against Granada’s defence but was often on the outskirts of the attack and isn’t as effective there. |
Pedro |
4.6 |
Minutes played: 90
Touches: 69
Passes: 39
Pass Accuracy: 74%
Shots/Shots on Target: 2/2
Fouls Won: 0
Successful Dribbles: 3
Key Passes: 1
Tackles: 2
Turnovers: 4
Inder says: 6.0
Largely ineffective once again in attack. Although he had a couple of shots at goal, he didn't make the most of his chances (not unlike the other attackers, to be fair). However, Pedro has seen a sharp decline in form recently and it is hard to comprehend why Alexis didn't start over him, especially since it isn't too hard to guess that Granada would sit deep (even if their reputation in general says the opposite, Barca generally forces clubs to park the bus). At this point, if one of Pedro or Alexis had to leave the club, right now, I would choose Pedro to go. |
Lionel Messi |
4.3 |
Minutes played: 90
Touches: 78
Passes: 52
Pass Accuracy: 77%
Shots/Shots on Target: 5/1
Fouls Won: 1
Successful Dribbles: 9
Key Passes: 4
Turnovers: 1
Inder says: 6.5
Created chances for team mates, had chances for himself and yet, was a shadow of his usual self. Messi's drop in form is worrying. It is safe to say that it won't be long before La Pulga is back to his scoring ways but extremely unfortunate that Messi couldn't convert against Granada. Even a draw would have given us a chance at the league. All 3 forwards were below par and have to take responsibility for not finishing. |
Neymar | 5.4 |
Minutes played: 90
Touches: 78
Passes: 54
Pass Accuracy: 83%
Shots/Shots on Target: 6/2
Fouls Won: 1
Key Passes: 5
Successful Dribbles: 5
Turnovers: 1
Inder says: 6.5
Was dangerous even if it wasn't anywhere close to one his best performances. The Brazilian youngster needs to improve drastically on his finishing. That said, his ability to create something out of nothing from the wings is good to see. |
Jordi Alba |
4.9 |
Minutes played: 33
Touches: 28
Passes: 23
Pass Accuracy: 91%
Aerial Duels Won: 1
Tackles: 1
Arron says: 6.5
Barcelona were 1-0 down with their La Liga title hopes fading fast and yet their first substitution was a like-for-like swap at left back. Go figure. Alba replaced Adriano and didn't offer an awful lot as far as I can remember. However, he didn't do anything wrong either, hence the mediocre rating. |
Alexis Sanchez |
4.8 |
Minutes played: 19
Touches: 12
Passes: 7
Pass Accuracy: 86%
Tackles: 1
Key Passes: 3
Arron says: 6.5
I'm sure everyone at home was thinking that this was the change that would change the game. Alexis Sanchez replaced Sergio Busquets as Gerardo Martino threw all caution to the wind, but really the swap didn't work, nor was it ever likely to produce the desired results. Sanchez has been in woeful goalscoring form away from the Camp Nou and a better alternative, in my eyes at least would have been to introduce Cristian Tello and move Neymar into a central role. But hey, what do I know...
|
The Team |
3.4 |
Passes: 722
Pass Accuracy: 88%
Shots/Shots on Target: 29/9
Tackles: 16
Aerial Battles Won: 41%
Fouls Won/Committed: 10/5
Arron says: 8.5
I can't wait to see what lies in store below for this rating. Granada took a chance and scored. It wasn't the worst defending we have seen all season either, just a good pass and great forward play from Brahimi. And aside from that, Barcelona played well and created chances. Or am I supposed to deduct 5 points because Karnezis played well and Barca were a little wasteful?
|
Gerardo Martino | 2.9 |
Arron says: 5.0
You can see it on his face. He thought this would be a fun job, but thanks to the media and fans, it isn't. He probably doesn't want to be here and nights like these are fast turning this dream opportunity into a never-ending nightmare for Tata. |
MOTM - None |
66% |
Bostjan says: Montoya
With a healthy amount of votes nobody won the Man of the Match voting. Considering the only other voting option was Neymar it comes to no surprise that it was the Brazilian who finished in second place with 34%. But I'm going off the "form" with my vote and giving it to Martin Montoya who in my opinion had an excellent game on the right side of the pitch. |