La Liga: Barcelona suffers humiliation against Granada

La Liga champions FC Barcelona suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of newly-promoted Granada CF. The latest setback puts them seventh in the league table, after having won only two of their first five matches. Meanwhile, Granada provisionally holds the top spot while waiting for the rest of the matches to be concluded this weekend.

Granada stamped their authority less than two minutes into the match. Ramon Azeez found the back of the net after taking advantage of a defensive error by Junior Firpo, who didn't make a good first impression on his first start for the team. The summer signing started the match in place of an injured Jordi Alba.

Ths hosts proved that the first goal wasn't a fluke by keeping Barcelona at bay for the rest of the match. After having just recently been promoted from the second division, Granada has shown the defending champions that they are not to be considered "minnows" in the competition.

Even the introduction of Lionel Messi and rising star Ansu Fati at half time didn't turn things around for Barcelona. Both Messi and Fati had a lot of time with the ball but neither of them could make a breakthrough.

Luis Suarez, who faced a lot of criticism at Barcelona's mid-week UEFA Champions League draw against Borussia Dortmund, was unable to beat Granada's keeper either. Even Antoine Griezmann, who was the summer's blockbuster signing from Atletico Madrid, has so far failed to open his account when it comes to scoring on away matches.

Granada extended their lead in the 66th minute after an Arturo Vidal handball resulted in a penalty. Alvaro Vadillo scored from the spot and Barcelona was never able to recover from there. According to the BBC, this is Barcelona's worst league start in the last 25 years. After playing five games so far, they have only managed to secure seven points.

They have now lost two of the last five games, a grim result considering the fact that they lost only three games in total during the 2018/19 season.

Meanwhile, the other La Liga giants are also struggling. Atletico Madrid failed to make it to the top of the table after being held to a draw against Celta Vigo. Real Madrid has only managed two wins and two draws so far this season. Their confidence level won't be at it's best when they travel to Sevilla on Sunday, after having been humiliated by Paris Saint-German with a 3-0 UCL thrashing last Wednesday.