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Barcelona produced a stunning comeback to beat Granada 5-3 after extra-time and secure their place in the semi-finals of the 2020-21 Copa del Rey on Wednesday at Los Carmenes.
The visitors were staring defeat in the face at 2-0 down with two minutes of normal time remaining, but late goals from Antoine Griezmann and Jordi Alba forced the match into extra-time.
Barca then went ahead for the first time in the match through Griezmann but were pegged back when Granada equalized from the penalty spot after Sergino Dest was adjudged to have brought down Carlos Neva.
Yet Frenkie de Jong restored Barca’s lead and made it 4-3 before Alba grabbed his second with a stunning volley after a series of passes.
The Catan giants join Levante and Sevilla in Friday’s draw for the semi-finals. Real Betis take on Athletic Club on Thursday in the final quarter-final.
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Griezmann & De Jong On Fire
Griezmann continued the brilliant form he’s shown in 2021 with another influential performance to help Barca into the final four.
The World Cup winner was involved in four of his team’s five goals, a new record for the 28-year-old in a Barcelona shirt.
De Jong also added yet another crucial goal to his collection. The Netherlands international struggled for goals in his debut campaign at Barca following his move from Ajax but now has six for the season.
Both Griezmann and De Jong have faced criticism during their time at Barcelona, after arriving for large transfer fees, but there’s no doubt the duo were key to the club’s most dramatic win of the season on Wednesday.
Barca’s Best Chance of Silverware
The win will fill Barca with confidence that they can go on and win the trophy this season, and the Copa del Rey certainly appears to be the team’s best chance of silverware in 2020-21.
The team’s hopes of winning La Liga look slim with Ronald Koeman’s men already 10 points behind Atletico Madrid who have a game in hand. The Catalan giants also face a tricky test in the Champions League with French champions Paris Saint-Germain up next in the last 16.
De Jong spoke to reporters after the match and admitted the win had given his team belief, as reported by Marca.
Antoine’s first goal made us believe. This match shows that we are very well mentally. The most difficult thing was to react in the 90 minutes with 2-0. We have been growing a lot in the last games. We are united and we show ourselves as a team and that is the important thing.
Barca certainly appear to be heading in the right direction after a difficult start to the season under new manager Koeman. The team are currently on a 10-game unbeaten streak in La Liga that has propelled them into second place in the table and will fancy their chances of lifting the Copa del Rey now and avoiding another trophyless campaign.
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