Gavi shows his 17-year-old head by picking up a bit of a silly booking in midfield.

Luuk de Jong (yes, him again) is down in the box. He burst through the heart of the Granada defence and down he goes.

It's a tricky call this one. He's pushed in the back a little and then fairly challenged by another player. The push I don't think is enough (even though it threw his balance).

He gets nothing.

Tough on Luuk de Jong. That was a glancing effort right out of the Dion Dublin coaching book.

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Ousmane Dembélé gets into a good area down the right flank, space to attack, he's crowded out and it's a corner only.

Barcelona shading things, seeing more of the ball and Granada settling into a deeper and deeper block.

Dani Alves is quick into tackle Jorge Molina on the touchline. Granada are lined up in what looks like a 4-4-2 with the ball. For the first time they drop deep as a unit as Barca enjoy their best spell of possession.

It ends as Luuk de Jong gets on the end of a cross. He attempts a scorpion kick but it goes over the bar. A good effort to be fair to the Dutchman and not too far away.

Remember the days when Barcelona existed to cut teams to ribbons, end up in a 3 versus one with your goalkeeper before squaring the ball to leave an empty net?

Those were ground-breaking times in many ways as they passed teams to death and frankly it looked so easy they seemed to have a right laugh doing so.

If ever there was a stat to underline how the times are changing it's the fact that Barca have scored the most headed goals in La Liga this season - seven.

Scrap the passing. Send it. Get it in the mixer.

That Luuk de Jong header almost made it eight. Brutal from VAR, brutal.

That Luuk de Jong headers is chalked off.

He glanced home a fine Gavi cross and there's nothing wrong with De Jong's part.

Gavi though is - after a long time - ruled to have been offside when he received the ball.

There are lines drawn and if we're being critical, Gavi's arm is offside. There's nothing in it and it's very tough on Barca.

The lines are the lines I guess.

Nico González does well to rob Granada front man Luis Suarez just as he was sizing a long-range hit up.

Granada have scored more goals from outside the box than any other team in La Liga this season - on eight.

Granada impressive early on here, getting in and around the yellow Barca shirts. A foul on Luis Milla in the centre circle gives the home side a free-kick.

I wonder if Dani Alves' body feels fresh when he gets up in the morning.

It took me 25 minutes to make a coffee this morning and I'm younger than him.

Here he is fresh as a daisy, playing one-touch passes to Gerard Pique for fun.

Luis Milla swings the ball in from a wide area after that Busquets foul. It flashes across the six-yard box but is behind those attacking it.

We get rolling and Sergio Busquets commits a foul in a testing area.

Not an ideal start...

I honestly think if Xavi had spent his career with one eye covered during games he'd still have been the most accurate and reliable player on the pitch.

He embraces his opposite number Robert Moreno.

We are set to go...

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The players stride out from the tunnel into this cauldron, lost in the shadows of the snow-capped mountains.

Barcelona's next fixture is in Saudi Arabia by the way. They take on Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup on Wednesday.

I doubt they'll find much in the way of snow there.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

That last post has prompted me to look through the Dani Alves honours list and frankly this level of success should be illegal.

Six La Liga titles, two French Ligue 1 titles and a Serie A title.

He's one the Champions League three times, the Europa League twice and claimed domestic cup wins seven times in the three countries.

He's also won the Copa America twice and Olympic gold once.

And still he goes on. Incredible.

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Dani Alves keeps on going doesn't he.

Given he, like Cafu, is off the Brazilian conveyor belt, maybe there's just something about right-backs born in the country.

Tonight, aged 38, he returns to La Liga action for the first time since May of 2016.

He's stopped off at Juventus, Paris St-Germain and Sao Paolo since.

Just one change for Granada as Victor Diaz comes into the back line.

This 4-3-3 setup looks like it will allow them to quickly drop the two wide forwards into roles as wide men in a midfield five.

Image source, .

Barcelona make five changes from their last La Liga outing - a 1-0 win at Mallorca.

The most notable is Dani Alves' return to La Liga action, while 17-year-old Gavi is back in having not featured since the draw with Valencia on 21 December.

Image source, .

Some may feel we're in Switzerland.

Granada's Estadio Los Carmenes is flanked by the Sierra Nevada mountain range in southern Spain.

I'd like to play here. I could look up at the peaks and admire how sweet it all is while the ball constantly bypasses me on the pitch.

Touches 0

Completed passes 0

Nods of approval at the scenery 90

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