Barcelona slipping off Primera Liga title pace as Atletico push on

Costa stretchered off field at Getafe in potential blow to Atletico's title hopes

Barcelona's Lionel Messi reacts during the Primera Liga match against Granada at Nuevo Los Carmenes stadium in Granada on April 12, 2014. Marcelo del Pozo / Reuters

Barcelona’s season is threatening to implode with Wednesday’s Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid looming after a nightmare week in which they were knocked out of Europe and lost 1-0 to lowly Granada in La Liga.

Saturday's defeat at Granada means Primera Liga leaders Atletico Madrid, who were also responsible for Barca's Uefa Champions League elimination on Wednesday, pulled four points clear of the Catalan giants with a 2-0 win at Getafe on Sunday.

Diego Godin gave Atletico the lead after 40 minutes. Diego Costa atoned for missing a penalty kick after 66 minutes and doubled the lead six minutes from time to make sure of the points, but in stretching to do so he collided with the far post and left the field on a stretcher.

Atletico looked sluggish in seeing off Getafe despite the hosts having Lafita sent off in the 65th minute. They moved to 82 points, three clear of Real Madrid, while Getafe stayed in the bottom three on 31 points, a point away from safety.

Real climbed above Barcelona into second with Saturday’s 4-0 win over Almeria to temporarily move level with Atletico and will be licking their lips at the prospect of playing their wounded arch-rivals in the cup final in Valencia.

Barca coach Gerardo Martino needs to lift his battered troops for the showpiece at the Mestalla, the venue where Real beat Barca 1-0 in the 2011 final, thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo's headed goal in extra time.

Martino, in his first season in charge at Camp Nou, pledged that he and his players would fight to the end.

“After these two defeats, the players have the sense that something very significant has slipped through their fingers,” he said.

“Wednesday’s match is a final and we have to go and win it in a way that does the match justice.

“It would be wrong to confuse feelings of sadness with throwing in the towel. We will only do that when mathematics tell us that we no longer have a chance.”

Defender Martin Montoya said the week’s events had damaged Barca’s state of mind.

“Mentally, we’re pretty screwed up,” Montoya, 22, told Barca’s website. “We will fight for the league until the end, we still have games left and hopefully our rivals will lose points.”

Martino had to shuffle his defence at Granada because three of his centre-backs, Gerard Pique, captain Carles Puyol and Marc Bartra, are injured.

Sergio Busquets played alongside fellow converted midfielder Javier Mascherano at centre-back, and the makeshift pairing will have their work cut out on Wednesday if they are deployed against Real’s formidable attack.

One ray of hope for Barca is that Real’s top scorer, Ronaldo, looks likely to miss the final after picking up knee and thigh muscle problems in his left leg.

Real coach Carlo Ancelotti does not think that Barca’s defeat at Granada will have any bearing on the final.

“It was a surprise because Barcelona has more quality than Granada, but at this time of the season, all teams are fighting for a goal and those fighting for salvation are the most dangerous,” the Italian said.

“I think Barcelona are thinking they can still win the league.

“There are many surprises in this league, and I think they will fight to the end. It will not change the dynamic of Wednesday’s match.

“In our heads, we do not consider what will happen with the other teams. We must look at our games.

“We have an incredibly important match on Wednesday, and we don’t have time to think about anything else.”

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