In a wild encounter, Antoine Griezmann propelled Barcelona to a 5-3 win over Granada to advance to the Copa del Rey semi-finals. For much of the game at Los Carmenes, Barca struggled, finding themselves down 2-0 as normal time drew to a close. The tide turned in the 88th minute when Griezmann found the net, and just four minutes later, he provided the assist for Jordi Alba to level the score. Although Griezmann put Barca in front during extra-time, Fede Vico converted a penalty to keep Granada in the fight. Ultimately, goals from Frenkie de Jong and Alba—set up yet again by Griezmann—clinched the victory for the Catalan giants.
Ronald Koeman highlighted the Copa del Rey as the quickest way for Barcelona to lift a trophy this year. It may be their only viable option, given that Atletico Madrid has a substantial 10-point cushion at the top of La Liga and Barcelona faces a tough PSG matchup in the Champions League.
This performance was arguably Griezmann's best since his transfer from Atletico a year and a half ago, continuing a hot streak of six goals and seven assists in nine matches. Now that Barcelona has reached the semi-finals and with Real Madrid and Atletico out of the running, Koeman's squad enters the final stages as the clear favorites.
Barcelona now moves forward alongside Sevilla and Levante, while the final semi-final spot will be decided on Thursday between Real Betis and Athletic Bilbao.
Samuel Umtiti struggled early on, contributing to Granada's lead; Alberto Soro first breached the defense to set up Kenedy for the opening goal. To make matters worse, Sergi Roberto had to leave the pitch with what appeared to be a hamstring injury, leaving Barca fighting uphill for a comeback.
The woodwork denied Barcelona twice, with both Francisco Trincao and Lionel Messi hitting the crossbar. The breakthrough finally came in the 88th minute when Messi delivered a ball to the far post, which Griezmann controlled and fired into the goal.
Granada had to survive four minutes of stoppage time, but they couldn't hold on. A similar play from Messi found Griezmann, who squared it to Alba for a goal that left the home side shell-shocked after dominating for so long.