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#3 Antoine Griezmann puts out on of his best performances in a Barcelona shirt
Having endured a lukewarm start to his Barcelona career, Antoine Griezmann did not seem to have any better luck at the start of his second season and came into this clash having not scored since 2 December last year.
In the buildup to the game, Ronald Koeman backed the France international and stated that goals were the ' best medicine' to boost Griezmann's confidence.
As it happened, the France international ended the game with a brace, while he also provided the assist for Messi's first goal.
He might have been slow to get back in an onside position in the lead-up to the opener, but he showed his instincts to take advantage of Soldado's poor clearance to put Barcelona ahead.
That gave him the boost he needed and the former Atletico Madrid man proved to be a thorn in the side of the Granada defense for the rest of the game, with his second goal showing his increased confidence in the game.
In many ways, this was unarguably Griezmann's best performance in a Barcelona shirt this season and with key games coming up in three competitions, it could be a case of perfect timing for the 29-year-old.
#2 Riqui Puig impresses in brief cameo
Riqui Puig emerged as one of the highest-rated players in the La Masia academy and he had his breakthrough campaign last season where he was integrated into the first-team post lockdown.
It was expected that Ronald Koeman would rely on the 21-year-old but that has not been the case and he spoke about the midfielder heading out on loan in his press conference for this fixture.
With the result already guaranteed against Granada, Puig entered the fray for Dembele with just 17 minutes left but he still showed enough quality to justify calls among Barcelona fans for him to be included more often.
The La Masia product ended the game with a 90.9% passing accuracy and a particular run of play where he used his chest control to evade the tackle of two Granada players showed his immense potential.
By all indications, Riqui Puig does not appear to have a future at Barcelona under Koeman, but his 17-minute cameo against Granada showed that fans who clamor for his inclusion are well within their rights to do so.
#1 Lionel Messi getting back to his majestic best
The current campaign started on a sour note for Messi, as off-field issues affected his performance on the field for Barcelona.
However, the Argentina international has been the mastermind of his side's recent upturn in fortunes and having been given an extended Christmas break to deal with an ankle problem, the 33-year-old has come back rejuvenated.
He could only register an assist as Barcelona dispatched Huesca 1-0 in their first game of the new year, but Messi has since been among the goals, with consecutive braces scored against Athletic Bilbao and Granada.
Both goals at Los Carmenes were indicative of his rediscovered form, with the fist coming from an inventive free-kick that was taken beneath the wall - this was his 48th direct free-kick for Barcelona in all competitions, with 37 of them coming in LaLiga.
His second came from a trademark left-footed shot from the edge of the area, with the excellent range of his shooting on full display.
With Barcelona playing in some decisive games in the coming weeks, Koeman understandably did not want to take any risks with his captain and took him off for a well-deserved rest with 25 minutes left.
The brace takes Lionel Messi to 11 LaLiga goals for the season, one clear of Gerard Moreno in the race for the Pichichi, and fans of Barcelona will be hoping that their talisman can continue performing at the levels expected of him.
