Former Manchester United forward Mason Greenwood (Getafe CF) opened the scoring.
Greenwood started and scored a goal against Granada in the 22nd round of the 2023-2024 Spanish Primera Liga at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez in Madrid, Spain, on Tuesday at 5 a.m. ET.
Greenwood opened the scoring in the 21st minute. He dribbled in from the halfway line and found himself in front of the opposition penalty box. With three defenders closing in on him, Greenwood simply struck a left-footed shot that deflected off a defender and into the back of the net.
After taking the lead on Greenwood’s opener, Getafe added another in the 36th minute. The Granada goalkeeper slipped and fell while receiving a backpass from a defender. He got back up and tried to clear the ball, but Borja Mayoral stole the ball and slotted it home.
The score remained 2-0 at halftime for both teams. In the 14th minute of the second half, Getafe had a crisis. They conceded a penalty kick for a handball. Fortunately, Mitro Uzni stepped up to take the spot kick, hitting the post and keeping Getafe from conceding.
In the 40th minute, Greenwood had one more shot on target. He found himself one-on-one with a defender on the right flank. The defender was confused by Greenwood’s ability to use both feet, so he didn’t know which one to block. Greenwood calmly fired a left-footed shot that went straight at the keeper.
Getafe held off a late Granada attack in stoppage time to secure the 2-0 victory. The win keeps them in 10th place in La Liga with 29 points and seven wins. With one less game to play, they can climb as high as eighth place.
Greenwood was honored after the game by being named Man Of The Match (MOM). Sofascore, a site specializing in soccer statistics, gave Greenwood a rating of 7.9, the highest for either team. According to Sofascore, he had one key pass, two shots on goal, and a 100 percent dribbling success rate.
Greenwood was a promising prospect for United, especially in the midst of a striker famine. After breaking into the first team in 2018-2019, Greenwood earned a regular spot in the 2019-2020 season. In 49 appearances, Greenwood scored 17 goals and provided five assists, establishing himself as the team’s go-to guy.
He seemed to have a sophomore jinx at the start of the 2020-2021 season, but eventually rebounded with 12 goals and four assists in 52 games. In 2021-2022, he was on fire from the opening day and had six goals and two assists in 24 games. It was a good start to the season and he was doing well.
But then came the shocking news. It was reported that Greenwood had assaulted his girlfriend and committed rape and assault charges. In an official statement, the club announced that Greenwood would not be participating in team training and would not play until further notice.
Ultimately, the club decided that Greenwood would not return, and he was sent on loan to Getafe. Greenwood has certainly bounced back at Getafe. He has four goals and four assists in 17 La Liga games, including a multi-goal performance in the first round of the Copa del Rey.
Greenwood’s resurgence has sparked transfer speculation. According to Kieran Hughes of The Sun, “Greenwood is close to joining Barcelona in June.” ”Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Premier League clubs will compete for Greenwood’s signature,” said European soccer transfer market expert Ekrem Konur.