LA LIGA:Barca slumped?

13 Apr 2014 00:24:00
Barcelona's nightmare week
hit a new low when they
followed up their Champions
League exit with a shock 1-0
defeat at Granada on
Saturday that left their bid for a fifth La Liga
title in six years in serious jeopardy.
After Atletico Madrid dumped them out of
Europe's elite club competition on
Wednesday, Barca sought a morale-boosting
domestic win that would have put them two
points clear at the top ahead of Atletico, who
play at Getafe on Sunday.
However, the Spanish champions again
looked lethargic and short on ideas against a
club with a fraction of their resources and
surrendered second place to arch rivals Real
Madrid, who thumped struggling Almeria 4-0
at the Bernabeu to draw level on 79 points
with Atletico.
Atletico can stretch their advantage at the
top to three points with a win at Getafe. They
play at Barca in their final match of the
season and will already be assured of their
first Spanish league title since 1996, when
current coach Diego Simeone was in the
side, if they win their next five matches.
"The league is not in our own hands
anymore," Barca coach Gerardo Martino told
a news conference.
"There is no reason to criticise the team, they
gave it everything they had," added the
Argentine, who is in his first season in
charge at the Nou Camp and now needs to lift
his players for Wednesday's King's Cup final
against Real.
"The ball did not want to go in and that's
that. We just weren't up to scratch in taking
our chances."
Barca fell behind at Granada's Nuevo Los
Carmenes stadium when Alex Song lost
possession in midfield in the 16th minute and
Yacine Brahimi raced clear and fired past
goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto.
They dominated the rest of the match but
Granada, who are fighting to avoid
relegation, held firm against waves of attacks
and the Catalan giants' second consecutive
defeat will do little to dispel the impression
of a club in crisis.

STUBBORN DEFENCE
They had almost 90 percent possession but
not even four-times World Player of the Year
Lionel Messi, who turned in another subdued
performance, or Brazil forward Neymar could
unlock a stubborn home defence.
Neymar had several clear chances, while
Messi drew a fine save from Granada
goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis with a free kick
just after the hour.
Sergio Busquets almost scored when the ball
fell to him at the resulting corner but his
close-range effort was straight at the keeper.
"This is a step backwards," Barca playmaker
Andres Iniesta, who was captaining the side
in place of the rested Xavi, said in an
interview with Spanish television
broadcaster Canal Plus.
"Sometimes it's hard to find an explanation
when you lose but we just couldn't get the
goal," added the Spain international.
"Teams like Granada who are playing for
their La Liga survival live and die on
chances like the one they scored but that
was too much punishment for us.
"We tried everything we could to score. It
hurts having taken this step backwards with
so few matches left."
Angel Di Maria fired Real ahead in the 28th
minute against strugglers Almeria when he
cut into the penalty area from the right and
curled a shot into the far corner.
Gareth Bale made it 2-0 eight minutes into
the second half with a low strike that
ricocheted into the net off Almeria keeper
Esteban and Isco added a third three minutes
later when he clipped a low shot into the
corner.
Substitute Alvaro Morata ran onto Asier
Illarramendi's scooped pass to complete the
rout five minutes from time.
This video is not available.
RIGHT PATH
"We are just focusing on ourselves as
always, we knew that the league would have
its ups and downs," Di Maria told Canal Plus.
"Wednesday's game is a Cup final and they
(Barca) will no doubt be back to their best,"
he added.
"We just have to keep working in the
knowledge that we are on the right path and
we have to keep it going."
Earlier, Jeremy Perbet headed a last-gasp
goal for Villarreal to secure a 1-0 victory at
home to regional rivals Levante that lifted
them above Real Sociedad into sixth.
Sociedad twice surrendered the lead at Celta
Vigo, who had defender Jon Aurtenetxe sent
off two minutes after halftime, in a 2-2 draw
at the Balaidos stadium.
Villarreal have 52 points, one ahead of
Sociedad and one behind fifth-placed Sevilla,
who visit city rivals Real Betis on Sunday.
Granada's win lifted them six points clear of
the relegation places into 13th on 37 points,
while Almeria are 19th with 30 points.
© Reuters