Granada Make La Liga History in 4-1 Win Over Real Betis With 11-Nationality First XI

Published on: 17 February 2017

Granada made history on Friday when they named a team comprising of 11 different nationalities in the 4-1 win over Real Betis.

To add to the trend, Greek defender Panagiotis Kone came off the bench in the second half to add nationality number 12 to the side.


Foreign stars, of course, are not rare in La Liga with Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, Argentine Lionel Messi and Uruguayan Luis Suárez leading the way.

Granada fielded an XI comprised entirely of players from different nationalities”it's the first time in La Liga history it's happened. pic.twitter.com/AHO2Jdwp5u

Not long after, Adrian Ramos doubled the lead with a header at the far post to nudge his side closer to some vital points on the scoreboard. The Colombian is currently on-loan from Borussia Dortmund and will join Chinese Super League club Chongqing Dangdai Lifan at the end of the season.

RT revistadelaliga: Superb finish from Mehdi Carcela! Granada lead 1-0. Watch on Sky Sports 5 HD! https://t.co/TR7qTkgKvh

Before the break, it was already 3-0 thanks to Belgium-born Brazil international, Andreas Pereira, who is the club's top goalscorer this season with three gals as he enjoys a fruitful loan spell away from Manchester United.


Ramos popped up again with a goal in the second half to make it 4-0 with a nicely improvised volley into an open goal.


Thanks to these goals, the game was already out of sight by the time Pereira received a red card and a slapfor a push in an incident that saw both sides reduced to ten men.

Betis were able to pull a goal back later in the game but it was, of course, no more than a consolation as the home side took all three points.


The win still leaves Granada second bottom, but means that they are now only a few points away from escaping the relegation zone, whilst increasing the distance between themselves and Osasuna to six points. Betis, on the other hand, sit 13th in the table after the humiliating loss to the relegation-battlers.

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