A double from Lamine Yamal salvaged a 3-3 draw for Barcelona at home to relegation-threatened Granada on Sunday in a rollercoaster La Liga match.
Yamal, who does not turn 17 until July, put the hosts ahead after 14 minutes with a tap-in after João Cancelo’s cross found him at the far post. Granada equalised two minutes before half-time thanks to Ricard Sánchez’s powerful volley into the top corner and the visitors grabbed the lead in the 60th minute with an easy finish by Facundo Pellistri, the Uruguayan winger on loan from Manchester United.
Robert Lewandowski made it 2-2 at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys as he converted from Ilkay Gündogan’s pass just three minutes later, but Ignasi Miquel restored Granada’s lead with a towering header in the 66th minute. Yamal finished off the scoring when he levelled again with a long-range strike for his second of the night 10 minutes from time.
Xavi Hernández’s side are third in the standings on 51 points, five behind second-placed Girona, who were thrashed on Saturday by Real Madrid, leaders with 61 points.
“We lost two points and a good opportunity to cut the deficit,” Xavi said. “Granada played an intelligent game, they pushed us hard. The league was difficult and now it’s two points more difficult. It’s a big difference but we’re not going to give up. We had plenty of chances to seal the game. The team had faith, courage and desire, but it wasn’t enough. It makes it even more difficult for us.”
Isaac Romero’s first-half strike earned Sevilla a 1-0 home win over Atlético Madrid earlier on Sunday, with the visitors hit by a worrying injury for striker Álvaro Morata, who left the pitch in tears after suffering a knee issue.
Sevilla took the lead in the 15th minute as Romero seized on poor defending to head home from a corner flicked on by Lucas Ocampos. Atlético dominated possession throughout but could not break through a solid home backline as they fell to their sixth league defeat of the season.
The win moves Sevilla up to 15th, six points clear of the relegation zone. Defeat for fourth-placed Atlético means they missed the chance to close on Barça.
“We started the game badly. It’s a story that repeats itself a lot, we have to improve and change our mindset,” said the Atlético goalkeeper Jan Oblak. “They played very well, they did everything they could to win because they needed to. They’re at the bottom, it’s not what their squad reflects. We’ve lost too many away games. It can’t happen if you want to fight for the league. We have to be honest. We’re a long way off.”
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The Atlético manager, Diego Simeone, struck a more upbeat tone. “I’m proud of the way the team played, the second half was extraordinary,” he said. “There were chances to score but we couldn’t, we have to be patient and keep working hard.”
In Serie A, a first-half goal from Théo Hernandez was enough to seal a 1-0 victory for Milan over visiting champions Napoli.
The France defender controlled a brilliant pass from Rafael Leão on the edge of the box and sent it low past the goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini to give Milan the lead in the 25th minute. Napoli, who did not have a shot on goal in the first half, showed more intent after the break but Matteo Politano narrowly missed the target when he fired from outside the box on the hour mark.
Milan, third in the standings on 52 points, are eight points behind leaders Internazionale and one adrift of Juventus in second, both sides with a game in hand.
