Granada CF’s big problem in Andorra was its mistake against the rival goal
Within the subjectivity implies that it exists when analyzing a soccer game, it is interesting to see how the results condition what is seen and what is thought of the match. It applies to everyone, from coaches to fans through players or journalists.
The defeat suffered by Granada this Sunday in Andorra, the first of the season in the Second Division, is a good example. In football it’s about scoring goals and not being scored on, so scoring chances created and being created is, apart from the final result, the best quantifiable element that a match offers.
It is convenient to clarify, looping the loop, that what for some is a clear goal option may not be for others, although it is already known that the meeting point in football is not always possible.
Granada had several clear chances in Andorra, more than it had in each of the previous three games and more than it will have in many games this season. And he barely conceded to the rival, although more so than in what has been played so far.
The goal, André’s save in the second half and little else that can be considered real danger. Starting from this premise, we all agree that the team deserved more in Andorra and the defeat was unfair. Sometimes, if someone had to win, it was Granada.
The analysis
Why then the sensations that the meeting has left in many have been regular to bad? Obviously, the main answer lies in the result, which, for better or worse, conditions almost everything. 1-0 apart, and despite the fact that the level of the rojiblancos in Andorra was neither much worse nor much better than against Ibiza, Racing or Villarreal B, Granada did not dominate two aspects of the game in the Principality that they had dominated well in the three previous duels: he did not press well and for many minutes he did not have control of the match.
Against a team like Eder Sarabia’s, surely the one that risks the most in the entire category, being able to steal up and exploit the spaces, something that Granada has done perfectly in this preseason, was essential. But the day that it seemed more feasible to do damage like this, among other things, Andorra had made a mistake at the start in their previous duels, that pressure did not work.
Success of the local players, bad choice of the visitors of the moments and places, little drive from Arezo in this facet, bad red and white placement… surely there is a bit of everything, even until they don’t squeeze with the necessary intensity, that hackneyed word already which Karanka also resorted to in the subsequent press conference.
Having control of the game is something even more subjective and has many more edges, although it seems clear that the game in Andorra almost never went as Granada wants and likes the games to be.
The changes did not improve the team
Surely the lack of control was affected by the absences of Melendo and Soro, perhaps the two best midfielders on the team. Without serving as an excuse, it would be missing more, they were missed. And not only in the offensive phase, more than one will rightly think.
Despite the fact that Karanka said on Friday that everyone was available, none was in Andorra, which made possible the premiere of Alberto Perea, who had minutes when nobody expected him.
This time, unlike what happened other times, the coach’s changes did not improve the team. In the eyes of many, including the one who writes these lines with the advantage of doing a day after the match, the game called for football in the midfield and overflowing by band, but neither Meseguer nor Bryan Zaragoza had minutes.
However, the last occasions were in the boots of Rochina, Perea himself and Jorge Molina, three of those who entered from the bench. If they manage to score… they see how the goals and the final results condition the analysis.
tragedies and festivals
It is not a tragedy to lose a game, just as it was no reason to celebrate winning three in a row. Granada did some worse things in Andorra than in other games, but the main difference is that there was no success.
No more. Now it’s about recovering it, knowing what was done wrong and continuing to work to improve, as Karanka says with as much insistence as reason, to be a regular team, the key to everything in Second.
Eibar awaits in Ipurua, a bone, like everyone else on this road full of thumbtacks that is this category.
The displaced hobby
Honor to the fans of Granada CF moved to Andorra. Were dozens of fans who occupied different areas of the field. The growth of the social mass of the club is a fact.
The number of subscribers, not to be in the First Division, is a huge success and the people are with their team, despite the disastrous last season. It’s not usual that it’s worth mentioning and it’s wonderful that he plays where Granada plays, there are always red-and-whites in the stands. And that the club and the players, whatever the result of the clash, they always have to thank, as they do.
García Amado spoke a few days ago at a press conference about the fans with love and admiration. In that, as in many other aspects, we have already gained a lot compared to last season.