BEVERLY HILLS, February 04, (THEWILL) – In one of the most unbelievably unrealistic football matches in modern times, the Spanish Copa del Rey quarter-final fixture between Granada and Catalan side Barcelona on Wednesday night was a rollercoaster of incredibility.
There are few examples to liken it to. Maybe, the nail-biting dumbfounding 2017 comeback of Barcelona from a 4-0 first-leg disadvantage to a second-leg 6-1 victory against Paris Saint-Germain in their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie, comes close.
Yet, this Wednesday del Rey tie between Barcelona and Granada at Nuevo Estadio de Los Cármenes had all that drama and entertainment and then, some more.
It all began well for Granada when Kenedy scored against the run of play after an error by Samuel Umtiti. They, Roberto Soldado struck a second on the break early in the second half with Barca struggling to get back into the contest against an exemplary Granada defence and inspired goalkeeper Aaron Escandell.
However, Griezmann turned in Lionel Messi’s cross from deep with two minutes of normal time left and the same combination set up Jordi Alba to head in an injury-time equaliser. Griezmann’s fine header put Barca ahead in extra time but, in dramatic fashion, Fede Vico struck back straight away from the penalty spot, only for Frenkie de Jong and Alba again to settle the encounter at last in extra time.
One way to appreciate the immensity of the spectacular nature of that interesting game of football is to go over the statistics generated by both sides.
After 47 minutes of a one-sided Barcelona dominance, the Ronald Koeman team trailed 2-0. This was while mostly keeping possession at a 74% rate. That possession football continued all the way into extra time and the Cules were on the brink of losing another Cup tie before they finally breached the Granada goal-line in only the 88th minute, with two short minutes of regulation time left.
It was from that late scoring that Barcelona’s comeback began and carried them all the way to a 5-3 victory. For the first time, defender Jordi Alba scored twice in one game and provided two assists of the five.
Matching Alba’s stat-for-stat was the refreshingly improved French forward Antoine Griezmann. The striker was responsible for two goals, although one was counted as an own goal, as it came off the post, struck the extremely good Escandell, before nestling in the net. Just as Alba, Griezmann also notched up two assists for Barca.
In that extra time to find a winner, Barca that had gone 87 entire minutes of regulation time failing to find a way past an excellent Escandell, put two beautifully constructed team goals away to claim the spot in the next round over their La Liga rivals.
It was a game of ironies that blended with the statistics to make for a dramatic spectacle of football entertainment.
How else can one who did not follow the match understand why the Granada keeper Escandell, who let five goals past him was deservedly considered a Man-of-the-Match candidate? By understanding that except for his heroics in the 14 saves he made, Barca will certainly have won by a lot more than five.
There is also the rate of dominance Barcelona presided over the hosts to make the quarter-final tie one of the most one-sided Copa del Rey match between two La Liga sides has ever been before. In the four different segments, which are the first and second half of regulation time and the two halves of extra time, Barcelona’s possession percentages recorded: 74%, 83%, 83%, 81% respectively.
This is reflected as well in the shots by both sides and tells the story of why Escandell was considered a notable option for Man-of-the-match. Barcelona’s 36 goal attempts contrasted sharply against Granada’s seven, just as 20 of those attempts were kept out as they were on target. Barcelona’s 1,061 passes also dwarfed Granada’s mere 294.
As no over-performance for Barcelona can be devoid of some highlights of their talisman, Lionel Messi was rated a perfect 10/10 by SofaScore, the detailed statistician for over 25 sports, despite not registering a goal of his. 10 key passes and 11 shots together that advanced Barca’s attack and his teammates was all he needed to orchestrate a remarkable comeback in a football match that was adrenaline-pumping entertainment for many fans.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
