In a thrilling LaLiga encounter on Sunday, Barcelona’s substitute, Sergi Roberto, came to the rescue with a late goal, securing a hard-fought 2-2 draw against Granada. The match witnessed history as Barcelona’s young winger, Lamine Yamal, etched his name as the youngest goalscorer in LaLiga at the age of 16 years and 87 days.
Granada’s forward, Bryan Zaragoza, initially stole the spotlight with two first-half goals, granting the hosts a two-goal advantage. However, Barcelona’s spirited comeback was ignited just before halftime when Lamine Yamal found the net from close range, reigniting their hopes.
Barcelona currently sits in third place with 21 points from nine games, trailing Girona by one point and leaders Real Madrid by three points. Atletico Madrid occupies the fourth position with 19 points and a game in hand.
Yamal’s remarkable achievement surpassed the previous LaLiga record held by Fabrice Olinga of Malaga, who had scored at the age of 16 years and 98 days against Celta Vigo in 2012. In August, Yamal had set the record for Barcelona’s youngest debutant in an official match. He continued to make history when he became Spain’s youngest-ever international and goalscorer at just 16 years and 57 days during a Euro 2024 qualifier against Georgia in September.
The goals from Yamal and Sergi Roberto proved to be crucial, rescuing a valuable point for Barcelona. The Catalan club had struggled in the first half but regained their composure in the later stages of the game, testing Granada’s goalkeeper, Andre Ferreira, who made several crucial saves.
Despite their early deficit, Barcelona dominated proceedings late in the match. Granada’s Bryan Zaragoza had squandered at least two clear-cut chances to extend their lead on the counterattack in the first half and had also struck a powerful effort against the post in the 87th minute. Shortly thereafter, Sergi Roberto leveled the score by netting first-time from Alejandro Balde’s precise cross.
In a dramatic turn of events, Barcelona’s players and manager, Xavi Hernandez, protested vociferously to the referee, who controversially ruled out a Joao Felix goal in added time for an alleged offside infringement in the buildup.
Reflecting on the match, Xavi stated, “I think we deserved more but paid for our mistakes. It’s clear we can’t go out on the pitch like that. We were patient, we dominated. Perhaps it’s our match with the most possession and we had many chances. Pity is that we had to come back from 2-0 down after two counter-attacks. My feeling as a whole is good, but we dropped two points.”
