Barcelona vs. Granada: Score and Reaction from 2016 La Liga Match

Barcelona beat Granada 1-0 in a sloppy display on Saturday, with Rafinha scoring the only goal in the 2016-17 La Liga contest.

Granada did a wonderful job of containing Barcelona's vaunted attack in the first half, but Rafinha struck immediately after half-time with an acrobatic finish.

The Catalans went looking for a second goal to secure the win, but neither team scored another goal.

As the Catalans' official Twitter account shared, manager Luis Enrique opted to rest several starters with an eye on Tuesday's UEFA Champions League clash with Manchester City, while Denis Suarez and Rafinha both made the starting XI:

Granada are the only winless team left in La Liga, and the Blaugrana expected to cruise to a lopsided win. The first chance fell to the visitors, however, with Uche Henry Agbo testing goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen from a tight angle.

Barcelona dominated possession around the Granada box, but chances were few in the opening stages. Neymar tried his luck with a shot, but the ball took a deflection and safely landed in goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa's arms.

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Granada were unhappy with the official early, as several tight calls went Barcelona's way, and Gabriel Silva was booked for a marginal foul on Sergi Roberto. After 12 minutes, the Camp Nou crowd turned against La Liga President Javier Tebas, as Sport's Rik Sharma noted:

Not everything went Barcelona's way, however, as Neymar was called back for a nonexistent offside following a great ball over the top from Javier Mascherano.

Neymar floated a cross-turned-shot into the box that missed the mark, highlighting the Catalans' struggles. While Granada barely posed a threat, the hosts couldn't find their rhythm, and Ochoa barely had work to do.

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Ivan Rakitic aimed a header wide of the mark, and Luis Suarez lost his balance while through on goal, allowing the defenders to close in. Agence France-Presse's Kieran Canning thought Enrique might regret his decision to give his players some time off:

Rafinha tried his luck with a shot that took a deflection, and the resulting corner saw Suarez put Ochoa to work, but all in all, the Mexican held his own comfortably. A late counter saw Agbo find some space, but he couldn't make up his mind and ended up playing a poor pass.

At half-time, Goal.com's Ben Hayward was surprised with the score:

Granada's luck changed shortly after half-time, however. Rafinha teed up Neymar, and while the Brazilian's strike came back out off the post, the provider smashed home the rebound with an athletic overhead kick.

Per Sport's Sam Marsden, Rafinha is in the middle of a breakout season:

The goal didn't lead to much improvement from the hosts, however. The Granada defence kept dealing with their crosses easily, and Mehdi Carcela found some success with his passing against the high defensive line.

Roberto picked out Neymar with a fine cross toward the post, but Ochoa produced a fantastic save to deny the Brazilian. On the other side of the pitch, Suarez just got back to deny Jeremie Boga, and sports writer Sid Lowe thought there was a chance of an upset:

With 15 minutes left to play, Barcelona continued to prod around the Granada box, and Lionel Messi hit a free-kick straight at the wall. Meanwhile, Suarez's point-blank header went right at Ochoa.

Neymar and Ruben Vezo were both booked for some late handbags, and Messi missed another chance to put Granada away for good. It didn't matter, however, as the Blaugrana controlled the ball late on their way to three points.

Per the club's official Twitter account, Enrique wasn't surprised by Rafinha's great start to the season:

Barcelona will face Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday, while Granada's next outing will be on Saturday against Deportivo La Coruna in La Liga.