GIFT ROBERTS
Barcelona’s coach Ronald Koeman was sent off from the stand as his term lost the chance of going top of La Liga after a shocking 2-1 home defeat to Granada.
Lionel Messi put the Catalans ahead to compel them to race for the title race when he struck in the 23rd minutes for his 26th goal of the season.
But Barcelona’s title hope was dashed when Darwin Machis equalized in 63rd minutes, as substitute Jorge Molina headed in from close range to give Granada the lead 11 minutes from time.
Speaking after the game Koeman confessed that they need to accept the defeat, adding that they now need to prepare themselves for Sunday’s away game to Valencia.
Koeman said. “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.”