It was far from easy, but Barcelona put an end to a mini-streak of two league matches without wins on a road with a Messi-inspired 2-1 win at Granada, secured deep into the second half. The Argentine broke the 300-goal mark at the club and carried the team to yet another win in their quest for the league title. Here are the ratings for last night's match:
Blameless in the Granada goal and had some very nice saves, including a crucial one in the dying minutes to prevent Granada's equalizer.
Had to leave in the first half due to yet another injury, but was getting exposed by the Granada attackers time and again before that, never looked calm and assured at all in this match.
Struggled a bit with the pace of Granada's forwards at first, but was mostly solid overall and improved as the match went on.
Always alert and barely put a foot wrong, averting some potentially dangerous situations with efficient defensive plays.
Extremely active and dangerous on the attacking end of the pitch, but his final ball wasn't always the best. Still an excellent outlet down the right flank, combining brilliantly with Messi and co. as usual up front.
Broke up play countless times, avoiding potentially dangerous counterattacks, and was competent, even if not as dynamic as usual, in his distribution in midfield.
Showed great passing and skills in this match, but still lacks the metronomic consistency of Xavi to lead the midfield.
Not as involved in the match as he'd have liked but dangerous in the rare occasions he was. Bizarrely, his shot ended up being an assist to Messi's equalizer.
Not brilliant, but as relentless in his off the ball work as ever, thus creating space for his teammates to shine. Was quite unlucky not to score as his shot hit the post.
A performance to forget in every way; he put an end to the team's moves more often than he created anything even remotely dangerous. Was replaced in the second half.
Wasn't exactly at his most influential best throughout the 90 minutes, but still decided the match yet again. He scored goal #300 with a simple tap-in and #301 with a fabulous direct free kick to secure another Barcelona win in La Liga.
Injected a lot of pace to the team's attack in his 30 minutes on the pitch and was considerably better than Sanchez, but his actions still ended up being inconsequential for the most part.
Only played for 20 minutes and wasn't particularly influential, but it was more than long enough to showcase his tremendous skill and vision.
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