Messi throws a foul in the last game against Granada.JON NAZCA / Reuters
Dismounted in the final of the Super Cup by Athletic, with serious doubts of being a competitive team against the greats of Europe and with LaLiga in tow because Atlético takes 10 points with one less game, Barça focuses on the Cup. he measures with Granada, a team that accepts the exchange of blows and on many occasions comes out gracefully. “This is the tournament we have in our hands,” Barça coach Ronald Koeman resolved at the press conference prior to the match. He is not without reason, because with four games – this one, the two in the semifinal plus the final one – he would be enough to add a laurel after leaving the previous season blank.
With the presumable return of Neto to the goal, Koeman will have to decide between Mingueza or Sergi Roberto for the right back, also if he starts Busquets, once he has already served a sanction against Athletic. It also remains to be seen who accompanies Messi in the attack, a footballer who will sue several of the club’s leaders in recent years for the leak of his contract to the World. But those who will not play safe, since the call only allows nine substitutes and not 12 as in LaLiga, will be Junior Firpo and Matheus Fernandes by technical decision. Less than a month ago, Barça visited Los Cármenes like a cyclone (0-4), but Diego Martínez’s team aims to reach the semifinals for the second time in a row, dropped the previous year by Athletic. They have reasons for hope, standing in the Europa League and eighth in LaLiga. Although Yangel Herrera will miss the meeting for having tested positive for coronavirus.
