FC Barcelona: Peña, Cancelo, Araujo, Christensen Koundé 46′), Balde, Sergi Roberto, Gündogan, Fermín (Romeu 68′), Raphinha (Yamal 76′), Félix (Torres 46′), Lewandowski
Bench: Astralaga, Kochen, Koundé, Cubarsí, Héctor Fort, Romeu, Casadó, Unai, Pau Prim, Ferran Torres, Lamine Yamal and Marc Guiu
Goals: 1-0 Raphinha (32′), 1-1 Bapstistao (40′), Sergi Roberto (60′), 3-2 Sergi Roberto (83′)
Barca took on the league’s absolute bottom plug from Almería in the last task of the year in La Liga. Here, Xavi had to do without as many as six of his players due to injuries and suspension.
As expected, Almería let Barca have the initiative and it wasn’t long before it was close to a score for the home team. On a corner kick, Sergi Roberto was completely free and headed on goal, but he had to see the keeper make a great save. In the following minutes, both Raphinha and Cancelo tried from distance, but without it being really close.
After the excellent start to the game, the pace went out of Barca’s game, which became stagnant. It seemed both unfocused and uninspired what was delivered and Almería had no great problems rejecting what came. Only when the clock had passed half an hour did the spectators at the Estadi Olímpic finally have something to look forward to. Araujo sent in a good header from a corner kick, which the goalkeeper parried, but Raphinha was ready for the rebound close to the goal and knocked the ball into the net to make it 1-0. Thus, there was a hole in the boil and the spectators sat and waited for the next Catalan score.
It could have come in the 38th minute, when a mistake by the Almería defense brought Lewandowski free in the box, but here too the goalkeeper delivered a great save on the Pole’s otherwise good finish. Two minutes later it was Araujo who made a big mistake in his own half and Bapstistao thanked him by tipping the ball over Peña and into the net. The flag came up for offside, but after a long VAR assessment, the scoring was approved. Barca’s players seemed shaken for the rest of the half, where they did not create anything and the spectators sent them to the break with a rare pipe concert.
Xavi responded by replacing two men at half-time, with Koundé and Torres replacing Christensen and Félix. Barca set out to create a good opportunity for Torres, but the goalkeeper came down and saved. Torres got another opportunity straight after, but here too the keeper stood in the way of a goal. Barca kept the momentum and in the 53rd minute it was Lewandowski who sent a good shot away, but the ball sat straight at the goalkeeper. After exactly one hour, Barca got a corner kick, where Sergi Roberto got his head on and beautifully turned it into the net to make it 2-1. That score clearly created relief in the stands.
A few minutes later, Lewandowski finished again, but this time the goalkeeper had the save for a corner. Almería was under pressure and Barca continued the hunt for a score that could definitively close the match. In the middle of the half, Fermín López was replaced by Oriol Romeu. While everyone sat and waited for another Barca goal, Almería shocked by leveling the score at 2-2 in the 72nd minute. A free kick was sent into the box, where Araujo backed into Peña, who lost the ball, allowing Edgar to easily dispatch it into the net. That score brought silence to the rafters. Two minutes later, Araujo came close to undoing the damage, but his header went narrowly wide. Shortly after, Raphinha was replaced by Yamal.
In the 78th minute, Gündogan should have put Barca ahead when, close in front of a completely empty goal, he simply had to get his head on Lewandowski’s cross, but the German narrowly missed. Huge shot and Gündogan was also upset. Fortunately for him, Sergi Roberto was sharper when, in the 83rd minute, Lewandowski played his captain free in depth and the Catalan coolly sent the ball between the legs of the goalkeeper to make it 3-2. Two minutes later, they came agonizingly close to another equalizer when Barca’s defense again fumbled at a corner, but Peña produced a classy save from Baba’s header.
As the match entered extra time, Sergi Roberto was set up well by Balde in the box, but the Catalan had to see his shot bounce off the crossbar. Here he was close to a hat-trick. Nothing more happened and Barca got the expected victory, but it was much more difficult than expected against the league’s bottom team.
