Club football is finally back after a long international break. While all the attention in Spain was towards the Madrid Derby, Barcelona’s game against Malaga was nothing short of intense and exciting. Barcelona kicked off in the Camp Nou, knowing that a win could take them to the top of the table as the Madrid Derby was scheduled for later that night.
However, it turned out to be a forgettable night at the Camp Nou as Barcelona were held by Malaga to a 0-0 draw. Despite being a goalless game, it was one of the most breathtaking matches of the season. Controversy, fantastic defending, superman like goalkeeping and great attacking football, the game was a complete package. Here are five talking points from the game.
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#1 The importance of Gerard Pique
The Spaniard has been having a fantastic season and he showed us that he is still at the top of his game and a vital player for Barcelona in big games.
In the defence, Pique was impossible to get past. He was strong, well positioned, composed and alert all through the game. His tackle to Sandro after a loose pass from Sergio Busquets was impeccable. Going forward in the last twenty minutes, Pique troubled the Malaga defence more than any other Barcelona player did. His height was a big positive and won almost every header that he contested for.
He was clearly fouled in the box in the dying moments and was unlucky to have a penalty denied. He also scored a goal after Andre Gomes hit the post with a header but was ruled offside in what seemed to be a very close call.
#2 Kameni earns Malaga a point and
Malaga fans must be worshipping their Cameroonian goalkeeper Carlos Kameni at the moment. The goalkeeper had a fantastic game in goal and made a handful of saves from what seemed certain goalscoring opportunities. The first notable save was within the first ten minute when Pique had a shot towards the top corner of the goal from a corner and Kameni tipped it over the crossbar.
Rafinha’s shot towards the bottom left corner was saved in what looked like a clear scoring opportunity. In stoppage time, Kameni made at least four important saves, the most notable one being that of a Neymar header.
Barcelona worked out Malaga’s attempt at an offside trap and played a pass over the defence leaving Neymar at a point blank range. However, Kameni quickly read the situation to dive backwards and keep the ball out. It is safe to say that Kameni was the best player on the pitch for Malaga.
#3 Juande Ramos gets his tactics right
Malaga have, over the years, managed to frustrate Barcelona. In Luis Enrique's first season with the club, Malaga was the only team to get a point off both the league fixtures against Barcelona, winning one while the other was a draw. However, this season, Juande Ramos' side are still struggling to find their identity as a team. However, their tactics worked against Barcelona.
Manager Juande Ramos was very shrewd in observing Granada, a team that frustrated a very strong Barcelona team at home by sitting back and defending. Barcelona’s build-up play has over the years suffered against such teams and Malaga followed the exact same blueprint.
With a 5-4-1 defence, Neymar was completely nullified during the first half on the left wing and Alcacer, Arda Turan and Rafinha hardly found the way through their defence. Only the long balls with Gerrard Pique up front managed to work for Barcelona but it was too little too late.
#4 No Messi, No Party!
After guiding Argentina to a much-needed victory against Colombia in the international break, Lionel Messi had a long journey back to Spain and was reportedly unwell for the fixture against Real Sociedad. This meant Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta, three of the most important players for Barcelona were missing for the game against Malaga.
Without the creativity of Messi, Barcelona seemed to choose the ariel route on too many occasions and lacked the X-factor. Neymar had a forgettable first half and Paco Alcacer still hasn't found his scoring boots. Leo's ability to draw defenders and create space would have been vital in this game and he could have capitalised on the red card in the second half.
Unfortunately for Barcelona, their bench squad is simply not good enough and despite a number of footballing jewels in their squad, Lionel Messi is surely the shining diamond that they rely on.
#5 Questionable decisions by the referee
Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea, the referee in Barcelona’s clash against Malaga had a disastrous game as he made at least 5 clearly poor decisions during the game. While Malaga received two red cards, the second of the two was a questionable one as Juan Carlos was given a direct red for saying something to the referee.
Apart from that, Barcelona was at the receiving end of those decisions as they could have had two penalties in the game as well. The first claim was when Arda Turan clashed with Federico Ricca in what seemed like a clear foul inside the penalty area. Towards the end of regulation time, Pique was clearly held back and brought down by Villanueva and the referee yet again gave the decisions against Barcelona to the dismay of the fans.
Pique’s tap in after Andre Gomes hit the post in the 84th minute was ruled offside which seemed to be a questionable decision as well. Overall, it was a poor game for the referee and his decisions hurt both Malaga and Barcelona.
