BARCELONA, Feb 12: Barcelona was jeered at home following a 3-3 draw against second-to-last Granada, a setback that saw the Catalan club move 10 points behind leader Real Madrid, which defeated second-place Girona 4-0 on Saturday.
Barcelona trails Girona by five points and is three ahead of fourth-place Atletico Madrid, which lost 1-0 at Sevilla earlier Sunday.
The draw is likely to add more pressure on Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández, who recently said he will not return after the end of the season.
Barcelona was heavily favored to win against a Granada team that has only one win in its last 13 matches in all competitions.
Teenager Lamine Yamal was the man of the match for Barcelona, scoring twice.
Lamal opened the scoring in the 14th minute before Granada rallied with goals by Ricard Sánchez in the 43rd and Facundo Pellistri in the 60th.
Robert Lewandowski equalized in the 63rd and Ignasi Miquel put the visitors ahead again in the 66th before Yamal leveled the match with low shot into the corner in the 80th.
Granada hasn’t won in five straight league matches, with three losses and two consecutive draws in its last two games. It stayed in 19th place, seven points from safety.
SEVILLA REBOUNDS
Sevilla continued its recovery with a 1-0 win over Atletico that ended a 10-match winless streak at home and moved it further away from the relegation zone.
Isaac Romero scored a 15th-minute winner to give Sevilla its second straight league victory after a run of five winless matches that included four losses. Sevilla hadn’t won in eight league games, matching its worst ever winless streak in the competition from back in the 1960s.
The victory jumped Sevilla to 15th place, six points from the relegation zone.
Atletico increased its winless streak to three matches in all competitions and saw its title chances in the Spanish league diminish. Diego Simeone’s team stayed in fourth place, 13 points from Madrid.
GETAFE’S LATE WIN
Jaime Mata scored twice, including an 89th-minute winner, in Getafe’s 3-2 victory over Celta Vigo at home.
Getafe stayed in 10th place, while Rafa Benítez’s Celta, which rallied from two goals down after the 71st, stayed 17th —three points clear from the relegation zone.
MURIQI’S WINNER
Vedat Muriqi scored a minute into stoppage time as Mallorca defeated Rayo Vallecano 2-1 to move into 16th place, six points clear of danger. (PTI)
