Bryan Zaragoza scored two great goals, but Barcelona lost two points in a 2-2 draw at Granada. A hat trick and a home win would have been possible, but the winger hit the post late in the game.

At the 18-second mark, Barcelona was behind. They got the ball first, but Andreas Christensen made a bad pass to Gavi, who lost the ball in the middle of the field. In an instant, Gonzalo Villar broke through and passed Lucas Boye, a player for Zaragoza. Boye’s shot across Marc Andre ter Stegen should not have been able to beat such a good goalkeeper, but it did.

If you look at how many goals Zaragoza has scored this season, he’s the guy with the most in La Liga. His release clause is only 14 million euros, and he’s only 24 years old.

Barcelona tried to get back into the game quickly, but Andre Ferreira blocked goals from Gavi and the lively Joao Felix. Granada doubled their lead after 30 minutes, and Zaragoza scored his fifth goal of the season.

He ran off because he thought Gerard Gumbau would hit him with a long pass from the middle of the field. The pass came in, and Zaragoza moved in front of Jules Kounde. He beat him once, but he wasn’t done. He looked inside again and then dummied his shot, which sent Kounde back the wrong way. Then he hit the ball high into Ter Stegen’s net with the outside of his right foot.

Could things get worse for Barcelona in the first half? Yes. During one Granada attack, Gavi hit Kounde on the leg with a human cannonball, and the defense went to the ground and needed to be helped. Though he tried to keep going, the pain and discomfort in his knee made it impossible for him to do so. He limped off and was replaced by Ronald Araujo.

After that setback, Barcelona got right back into the game when Lamine Yamal scored the league’s youngest goal ever. He was only 16 years and 87 days old. He scored because Joao Felix picked him out in a busy penalty area. Just inside the box, he put the ball in from close range.

Robert Lewandowski was hurt, so Barcelona didn’t have him, and Ferran Torres wasn’t having the best night when he came on to replace the Polish forward. Ilkay Gundogan had a chance to score from close range when he crossed the ball from the right side, but Andre Ferreira stopped it.

With 15 minutes left, Yamal hurt his thigh. This was more bad news for Xavi, who was already without Frenkie de Jong, Pedri, Raphinha, and Lewandowski. Now the shots were coming from farther away, and Ferreira saved shots from both Gundogan and Gavi.

While Barcelona was running out of time, Granada was being very bad with five minutes left. It was tried by both Jesus Vallejo and Jose Callejon to get Joao Felix to foul them. Callejon put on a show, and as the game went on, Alejandro Balde crossed the ball and Sergio Roberto scored.

Joao Felix scored from Joao Cancelo’s cross at the far post, but Ferran was offside in the middle, and the flag went up. Barcelona might have even won the game.

 

For Granada’s counterattack, Zaragoza hit the post between the equalizer and what Barcelona thought should have been the winner. But the night still belonged to him, even though Barcelona’s defense kept him from winning.