Lionel Messi was his usual self, and he decided it

Lionel Messi was his usual self, and he decided it

Messi, autor del gol del FC Barcelona contra el Granada
Messi, autor del gol del FC Barcelona contra el Granada | VALENTÍ ENRICH

The captain scored his 620th goal as a Barcelona player

Quique Setien's changes were noticable as Barcelona beat Granada 1-0 on his debut. The team had more possession, played basically in the opponent's half the whole time, rarely conceded chances. What was nothing new was the way the game was resolved - Lionel Messi appeared to socre the winner and earn three points to put the Catalans back top of La Liga.

The Barca skipper netted in the 76th minute. Riqui Puig won the ball back high up. Setien said the youth player "brings a lot of basic concepts of this game from La Masia". He fed Busquets, to Griezmann, to Messi, to Vidal, who backheeled it, and Messi slotted home his 620th goal in 708 games.

Messi's goal was Barcelona's 50th this season in the league. They are the first team to hit that figure and if they maintain it they could reach what they failed to in the last two seasons - 100. They netted 99 in 17-18 and 90 in 18-19. 

The Argentine now has 14, the league's top scorer, with Benzema second on 12. Suarez, who is third, has 11 but is out for four months.

Topics with the letter