Barca only won by a narrow margin against the bottom-placed team.

Rafinha became a hero for Barca when he scored the only goal in the match against Granada in round 10 of La Liga.

Rafinha secured three points for Barca in a closely contested match. Photo: Reuters

Goal: Rafinha 49'

Facing bottom-of-the-table Granada at home in the Nou Camp, Barca surprised viewers by missing a series of one-on-one opportunities against goalkeeper Ochoa. Without Rafinha's volley goal, the reigning La Liga champions might have had to settle for a draw.

The victory, though narrow, was incredibly significant in terms of results. After this match, Barca reclaimed second place from Sevilla with 22 points. Real Madrid now leads with 24 points, while Sevilla and Atletico Madrid are third and fourth respectively with 21 points each.

On October 15th, Granada suffered a crushing 1-7 defeat to Atletico Madrid. Over the past two weeks, however, the team has shown significant improvement in defense, holding Sporting Gijon to a 0-0 draw and only losing to Barcelona by a minimal margin. By employing a defensive strategy with a large number of players behind the ball and focusing on attacking with fewer defenders, Granada managed to neutralize a considerable portion of the attacking power of the Messi, Suarez, and Neymar trio. The bottom-placed team only conceded a goal after Rafinha's rebound volley, following a close-range shot from Neymar that hit the post.

Besides their defensive play, Granada's ability to maintain a minimal deficit was also largely due to luck. On a truly unlucky day, the MSN trio suddenly became ordinary forwards, constantly missing opportunities. Of the three, only Messi stood out, frequently dribbling and creating chances for his teammates. In contrast, Suarez and Neymar almost each missed two one-on-one opportunities against goalkeeper Ochoa. Messi himself squandered a similar chance, chipping the ball several meters over the crossbar in the 82nd minute.

Messi and his teammates were unable to maintain their consecutive goal-scoring spree.

In a closely contested match, the MSN trio only managed to salvage a little pride with an assist for the only goal. The situation occurred in the 49th minute, initiated from the right wing by Messi. Following a cross from the "number 10," Neymar's shot hit the post before Rafinha leaped and volleyed the ball into the net with an overhead kick.

Barcelona's lack of precision may have been partly due to the "storm" of injuries. From the start of the match, coach Luis Enrique fielded Denis Suarez and Rafinha in midfield. Meanwhile, Andres Iniesta was sidelined with injury, and Sergio Busquets was rested to prepare for the Champions League match against Man City. Without Iniesta's tactical vision and incisive passes, the MSN trio had to work much harder to find the ball.

Had they faced a better counter-attacking opponent, Barca might have paid the price. Granada focused almost exclusively on defensive efforts to limit goals conceded, failing to create any dangerous attacks that threatened goalkeeper Ter Stegen's goal. Most of Granada's attacking moves were stopped by the central defensive pairing of Mascherano and Umtiti.

Ivan Rakitic (left) also missed a good opportunity when he headed wide of the goal while unmarked.

Winning by a minimal margin, Barca showed the need to improve their form ahead of their next match against Man City. In England, Man City recently regained confidence with a 4-0 victory over West Brom.

According to VNE