Barcelona missed a golden opportunity to go top of La Liga as they suffered a surprise home defeat, losing 2-1 to Granada at the Camp Nou.
Lionel Messi continued his red-hot form as the captain gave the home side the lead when he combined with Antoine Griezmann before slotting into the far corner.
Barcelona missed several opportunities to add to their lead before Darwin Machis drove in the equaliser after over an hour had gone by in the game.
Substitute Jorge Molina then headed in the winner for the visitors in the 79th minute and the Catalans failed to make a comeback.
Victory would have put Barcelona one point clear at the top of the table with five games to go but instead, the side stays third, two points behind leaders Atletico Madrid and level with Real Madrid.
Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are going to face off next week on Saturday, 8th May, in what could very well determine the league title race.
Real Madrid will be hoping for a draw between their two rivals that would see them then going equal on points with Atletico Madrid as long as Madrid win their match as well.
Jorge Molina celebrates scoring the winner against Barcelona (Photo by Joan Valls/Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Lionel Messi scored his 26th league goal of the season but Ronald Koeman’s men faced a frustrating night that saw him sent to the stands following his anger at the referee after Granada’s equaliser.
In the post-match, this is what the Catalans boss had to say: “We lost our focus in the second half and made errors at the back.
“We need to accept the fact we’ve lost, that’s the reality of things. We had chances to win the game, but that’s that. We’ve got five more games to go and each of the sides (in the title race) will have difficulties in the schedule.
“We now need to prepare ourselves for Sunday’s game (away to Valencia). We’re still in the mix and have a chance. We need to accept this, move on and prepare for the next one.
“We tried but weren’t able to make many chances when they scored their goals. They closed shop well and we couldn’t create.”
