News Sports Football La Liga 2021-22: 10-man Barcelona suffer late draw vs Granada

La Liga 2021-22: 10-man Barcelona suffer late draw vs Granada

Puertas scored the 89th-minute equaliser for Granada with Barcelona hemmed in inside their box after Barca teenager Gavi Paez got his second booking with 10 minutes left.

Referee shows a red card to Barcelona's Gavi Paez (jersey no 36) during La Liga match against Granad Image Source : FRAN SANTIAGO/GETTY IMAGESReferee shows a red card to Barcelona's Gavi Paez (jersey no 36) during La Liga match against Granada CF at the Nuevo Estadio de Los Cármenes in Granada.

Barcelona slumped to sixth place on the table after the Catalan giants were held for a late 1-1 draw by hosts Granada on Saturday night. 

In a major highlight in the game, Dani Alves set up the opener in his first league match since returning to the club. The 38-year-old Alves curled in a long ball for Luuk de Jong to steer home with a header in the 57th.

But Granada poured forward after Barca teenager Gavi Paez got his second booking with 10 minutes left. Antonio Puertas scored the 89th-minute equaliser with Barcelona hemmed in inside their box.

Alves, who helped Barcelona win 23 titles from 2008-16, started his second stint on Wednesday as third-tier side Linares was beaten 2-1 in the Copa del Rey.

"We are angry and frustrated because we let two vital points slip away," coach Xavi Hernández said. "The sending off obviously changed the match, but we were already making too many mistakes, losing too many silly balls. It may be due to the lack of experience of our young players, but it is proving difficult for us to maintain possession when we need to."

Barcelona next heads to Saudi Arabia to play El Clasico against Real Madrid on Wednesday in the semifinals of the Spanish Super Cup. Atletico and Athletic Bilbao are in the other semifinal.

Levanta finally post a win 

It took Levante 20 matches, but they finally got their first win of the season. Roberto Soldado and Jose Morales scored in their 2-0 win over Mallorca after having gone the entire first half of the season — a full 19 rounds — without a single victory. The only previous win in any competition for the Valencia-based side came against a lower-division opponent in the Copa del Rey, before they were eliminated in the next round by a third-tier opponent.

Levante remained in last place, five points from safety.

Mikel Oyarzabal scored his 12th goal in all competitions to help Real Sociedad beat Celta Vigo 1-0, ending its six-round winless streak.

(Reported by AP)