Granada forward Bryan Zaragoza wreaked havoc against Barcelona last night, with his two early goals forcing the Blaugrana to settle for a 2-2 draw away at Los Carmenes.
Speaking after the game, the 22-year-old forward revealed to El Chiringuito TV that defender Ronald Araujo was so frustrated with him that he told him to stop running.
“During the match, Ronald Araujo told me ‘Stop running, you mo**erf****er,” revealed the 22-year-old.
Granada draw a reality check for Barcelona
The error they made against Granada in the opening 30 seconds is, in fact, a reflection of their previous mistakes and also the fact that they have not learned anything from it.
The Bluagrana have grown accustomed to trailing, and while they previously addressed this issue by winning matches at the start of the season, their recent encounters with Mallorca and Granada have seen them experience the nail-biting pressure of having to salvage at least a draw.
Against Celta Vigo, in a 3-2 win, Rafael Benitez’s men went 2-0 up and with only 15 minutes to play, there was a belief that the game was lost. Robert Lewandowski and Joao Cancelo’s last-minute heroics, however, made the difference as Barcelona emerged victorious.
Barcelona not learning from these mistakes
The young Barcelona team did not learn the lesson against Mallorca either as a similar scenario unfolded, leaving the comeback effort hanging in the balance.
A blunder in the 8th minute and another just before halftime tilted the score 2-1 in favour of Mallorca. Raphinha managed to pull one back, but Barcelona had to regroup swiftly. Eventually, it took a 75th-minute goal from Fermin Lopez to salvage a 2-2 draw.
As for Araujo, who was tired of Zaragoza’s running, he was introduced after Jules Kounde could not continue through injury. The Uruguayan’s introduction changed the complexion of the game, although it is also true that Granada did not attack much after 2-0.
In any way, his introduction was crucial to some extent.
