Barcelona 1-1 Granada: Ronald Araujo rescues point for hosts but pressure mounts on Ronald Koeman

Ronald Araujo scored a 90th-minute equaliser to salvage a point for Barcelona against Granada and spare Ronald Koeman’s blushes.

Domingo Duarte’s second-minute header looked set to give Granada all three points to heap the pressure on Koeman with a shock 1-0 victory at the Camp Nou, but there was to be late drama as Barca hit back.

Barcelona kicked off amid a mood of malaise around the Catalan club and this mood darkened further as Granada took the lead after just two minutes, with Duarte heading home at the back post from a Sergio Escudero cross.

Granada remained comfortable for the majority of the first half until a Ronald Araujo header was clawed away by goalkeeper Luis Maximiano with Barcelona pressing for an equaliser close to the interval.

Koeman made changes with Luuk de Jong introduced for the start of the second half and Gerard Pique, Riqui Puig, Oscar Mingueza and Gavi all thrown on, but there was to be no equaliser.

De Jong spurned the best opportunity of the night, heading over from point blank range, while Ronald Araujo offered threat from set pieces, but Granada appeared to have weathered the worst of the storm.

However, Araujo powered home a header from a Gavi cross on 90 minutes to snatch a point for Barca, although this could still be a damaging result for Koeman who will face further scrutiny.

TALKING POINT – Will this result be enough to save Ronald Koeman?

The tension was palpable from early on at the Camp Nou. Koeman and his Barcelona team have faced a lot of criticism recently, with the Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich prompting calls for the Dutchman to be sacked. This performance and result certainly won’t help Koeman quell such criticism, but Araujo’s late equaliser might just have kept him his job for another match. Make no mistake, though, the Barca boss has to come up with some answers, and quickly.

MAN OF THE MATCH – Ronald Araujo (Barcelona)

Barcelona were able to snatch a point from this match thanks to the sheer will power of Araujo. The Uruguayan central defender was the home side’s best goal threat for much of the second half, with Araujo coming close with two powerful headers before a third found the back of the net. He also nearly forced a winner in stoppage time, taking it upon himself to provide his teammates with service from the wings. This was Araujo at his best even if Barca were dismal.

PLAYER RATINGS

Barcelona: Ter Stegen 5, Dest 5, Araujo 9, Garcia 5, Balde 3, Busquets 5, De Jong 6, Roberto 4, Coutinho 4, Memphis 7, Demir 5. Subs: Mingueza 5, Puig 6, Gavi 8, Pique 6, de Jong 4.

Granada: Maximiano 8, Quini 5, Duarte 7, Abram 5, Escudero 7, Monchu 6, Milla 5, Eteki 4, Puertas 5, Machis 6, Molina 7. Subs: Suarez 5, Neva 4, Sanchez 4, Montoro 6, Gonalons 6.

KEY MOMENTS

2’ GOAL! Barcelona 0-1 Granada: It’s the worst possible start for Barcelona! They have fallen behind early on! The cross was played to the back post by Escudero, de Jong gets caught underneath the delivery and Duarte was on hand to head home into the empty net!

45’ WHAT A SAVE! That is an astonishing save by Maximiano! Araujo surely thought he’d found the back of the net with a powerful header from a Memphis freekick, but the goalkeeper saves!

83’ HOW DID HE MISS?! Oh dear. That was a sitter. That should have been the equaliser. De Jong has somehow managed to head over the bar from only a few yards out. Wow. He should have scored!

90’ GOAL! Barcelona 1-1 Granada: An equaliser in the 90th minute! Araujo wins the first header into the box, Pique plays the pass to Gavi who then chips the cross back into the Barcelona centre back and he heads into the back of the net! Drama at the Camp Nou!

KEY STATS

• Domingo Duarte scored the earliest goal (1 min, 28 seconds) in a La Liga match played at the Camp Nou since Fernando Torres for Atletico Madrid in 2005.
• Duarte became only the second Granada player to score at the Santiago Bernabeu and Camp Nou in La Liga in the 21st century.