By Conor Laird
Final Update: September 20, 2021 9:08 pm
The worrying personal situation that FC Barcelona faces has continued to worsen this Monday, in the middle of the club’s meeting with Granada.
Duarte in goal
Ronald Koeman’s men are currently in action at the Camp Nou.
The Blaugrana welcomed Granada’s minnows to Catalonia for the last La Liga game of the weekend, aiming to bounce back immediately after a worrying loss to Bayern Munich last time.
However, as things stand, Barça’s problems only seem to be deepening.
This comes with the hosts currently trailing by a goal to nil, courtesy of a header from Domingos Duarte.
With just two minutes left on the clock at Camp Nou, Sergio Escudero’s good shot to the face of the goal was guided home by Duarte at the back post, adding more to an already tense atmosphere:
The worst possible start for Barca! 😬
— Premier Sports (@PremierSportsTV) September 20, 2021
Whistles ring out around the Camp Nou as Domingos Duarte puts Granada ahead after just 85 seconds 😱 pic.twitter.com/4FvF88baXJ
Balde forced off
And, as described above, the current score is far from Barca’s only concern at the end of the first 45 minutes on Monday night.
The hosts have also taken a hit on the staff front.
With people like Pedri, Martin Braithwaite, Ousmane Dembélé, Ansu Fati and Jordi Alba already on the bench, the young Alejandro Balde was taken advantage of from the beginning against Granada, on the left of Ronald Koeman’s rear quarter.
Mingueza comes on for Alejandro Balde who seemed to be playing through a back problem for most of the first half sadly.
— TalkFCB © (@talkfcb_) September 20, 2021
Shortly before halftime, however, Balde was too forced to limp, after suffering what appeared to be a back problem.
The blow couldn’t have come at a much worse time for the 18-year-old on a personal level, as the home crowd that attended the Camp Nou had been shouting Balde’s name minutes before his eventual exit from the proceedings.
The Camp Nou is chanting “Balde” 💙
— TalkFCB © (@talkfcb_) September 20, 2021
