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Barcelona coach Setien happy with 'good' debut win

Barcelona coach Quique Setien was pleased with a debut win over Granada.

Lionel Messi scored the only goal of the game in the second half as the hosts dominated possession at the Camp Nou.

"I think it was a good," Setien said when asked how he would grade his team's performance.

"Maybe we lacked a bit of conviction in the first half. Granada defended very well, and it wasn't easy.

"Furthermore, it was an unpleasant day, with wind, a dry pitch, and this stopped the circulation [of the ball].

"I'm happy because we only conceded one shot in the first half and the shot that hit the post in the second half came from our loss [of possession].

"I think we did a lot of things well and I hope that little by little we pick up fluency and improve in front of goal."

Barcelona struggled to create many chances in the 75 minutes before Lionel Messi finally found the back of the net.

"It's what he's done his whole life. That's the reality," Setien said about his captain.

"There are matches like these that are deadlocked, without conviction and without inspiration, and he always appears in a great move in the end.

"[It was] a great backheel by Arturo [Vidal to set Messi up]. This move came in the first half a couple of times and it didn't come off, but when it falls to Messi, there's a high percentage it will go in."

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Paul Vegas

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