The Barça he reached a point in the Champions League zone yesterday, a position that seemed to endorse the growth of the Barça team since Xavi’s arrival on the bench. But the meager point of Granada, when he had all three in hand but once again slipped away due to lack of skill, represents an unexpected brake in the classification, a lost opportunity and a discouragement in the face of the Spanish Super Cup that is played in a few days in Saudi Arabia.
With their third draw in the last five games, Barça is now in sixth place in the table with 32 points, one below the Champions League positions that Real Sociedad (1-0) accounted for by Celta. However, the Catalans could get away to three if Atlético (32) manages to beat Villarreal at home. The distances could be enlarged with Sevilla (41), which is second, and with Betis (33), which is third, if at home they achieve the victory against Getafe in the Sánchez Pizjuán and in front of Lightning in Vallecas.
With the Real Madrid (49 and one more game), leader of the category, the difference seems impossible to wipe out in this second round. The two teams are separated by a gap of 17 points when there are still 54 at stake.
The problem for Barça to find itself in this compromised situation is that it has not known how to defeat rivals, on paper, of inferior quality such as Granada itself, with two draws, at Cádiz, Rayo, Alavés, Celta and Osasuna
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