BARCELONA, Spain (AP) – Coach Quique Setién only needed one match to leave his mark on Barcelona.
Barcelona set season highs for ball possession and passes in a 1-0 win over Granada on Sunday, Setién’s first match since replacing Ernesto Valverde six days earlier.
The defending champion’s level of 82% ball possession came close to reaching the all-time Spanish league record of 84% established by Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona in 2011, according to the club. The team’s 1,005 attempted passes smashed its previous season high of 788 passes against Real Betis.
One thing, however, remained the same after the coaching switch: Barcelona turned to Lionel Messi to find the winning goal.