Barcelona vs. Malaga: Winners and Losers from La Liga Game
Barcelona suffered a shock 1-0 home defeat to Malaga in La Liga on Saturday, missing the chance to go to the top of the table in the process, as their run of 11 wins in all competitions came to a surprising end.
Juanmi scored the only goal of the match after a defensive error, and though Barcelona dominated possession throughout, Carlos Kameni was never unduly troubled, and indeed Malaga created some of the better scoring opportunities on the break.
Here are all our winners and losers from the match.
Winner: Juanmi
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Juanmi was the big beneficiary of Barcelona's open, attacking play, making countless fantastic runs on the counter-attack to find the spaces after Malaga roared forward when the ball was won.
It was he who capitalised on a poor back pass to score the opening goal of the game, rounding Claudio Bravo and finishing with good pace and composure.
Between he, Samu Castillejo and Sergi Darder, Malaga had players willing to work hard off the ball but then commit Barcelona at the other end of the pitch, too.
Loser: Dani Alves
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This wasn't Dani Alves' best game, not least of all because he played the under-hit pass to Bravo that allowed in Juanmi to score Malaga's goal.
Alves spent much of the game in the attacking part of the field as usual, but provided nothing of note from his wide-right role and couldn't find the spaces or timing in his runs to get behind the Malaga back post.
Alves was subbed for Javier Mascherano as Barcelona tried to get back into the game.
After the game, boss Luis Enrique refuses to pin blame on Alves alone, as per Sport:
"This is a game of mistakes and successes. It is the fault of the whole team. When we do well, it's all of us, and when we fall, it's all of us as well. Never individualise. Defeats, when they happen, are painful and difficult to overcome. We have a great challenge in three days and we will try to overcome it. We had a hard time generating chances. There was disorganisation. It is essential to restore order to win games.
"
Winner: Marcos Angeleri
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Malaga's terrific back line had Roberto Rosales and Marcos Angeleri in particular to thank, with both putting in exemplary displays to shut out Barcelona's attacking line.
Angeleri, right of centre, had to contend with Neymar's constant dips infield, the ever-present threat of Luis Suarez and those clever, clipped balls diagonally into the box from Rafinha and Lionel Messi—and he did it perfectly well throughout.
The entire defence deserves credit for holding a good line and being organised and resolute, but Angeleri was perhaps the standout performer.
Loser: Home Creative Players
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Barcelona huffed and puffed, had plenty of the ball and had time to pick their passes, but the creative players in their ranks simply didn't have the answer to break down Malaga. It wasn't simply that they didn't score, but rather, that there was a huge lack of clear chances created.
Andres Iniesta and Rafinha started. Lionel Messi, of course, played the whole game; Ivan Rakitic came on—but none really played a final telling pass that gave a clear opening to any of the front players until Neymar fed in Pedro for a shot off target in the 83rd minute.
Malaga defended well and were organised throughout, and they deserve credit for that. But after a great run of form from Barcelona, the Catalans would have hoped to have made plenty more opportunities on goal than they managed.
Winner: Real Madrid
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The big winners here are Real Madrid.
Barcelona would have gone top and two points clear with victory, ahead of Real's game on Sunday, but the scoreline at Camp Nou leaves Carlo Ancelotti's side with a great chance to open a significant gap if they take a win.
More points yet remain to be won, and consistency over the next few months will be all-important, but the psychological impact of having to chase is definitely worth noting. Real will be relieved and delighted to be top this weekend, whatever happens in their own match. For Barcelona, it's an opportunity missed.
