Barcelona vs. Deportivo: Score and Reaction from 2015 La Liga Match

Barcelona struggled to a 2-2 draw against Deportivo La Coruna during Saturday's La Liga action, opening the door for Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid to make up ground at the top of the standings.

Lionel Messi gave the hosts a lead in the first half with a brilliant free-kick, and when Ivan Rakitic doubled their lead in the second half, the match seemed all but over. But Deportivo completed a fantastic comeback inside the final 10 minutes, with Lucas Perez and Alejandro Bergantinos both finding the net.

Per WhoScored.com, the 2-2 draw marks just the first time Barcelona have dropped points at home all season. The last team to grab points at the Camp Nou in La Liga was also Deportivo, per Soccerway. 

As reported by the club's official Twitter account, Barcelona manager Luis Enrique handed Sandro Ramirez the start on the left wing in place of the injured Neymar:

Blaugrana blogger La Masia wasn't surprised Ramirez got the nod over Munir El Haddadi, given the latter's poor showing against Bayer Leverkusen:

The Catalans could―and maybe should―have taken the lead just four minutes into the match, as Messi found Sandro with a fantastic ball into the box. Rather than take a shot himself, the youngster laid the ball back to Luis Suarez, who fired his shot wide of the goal.

Deportivo held their own in the midfield battle early, which made for an entertaining match, but nearly all of the chances were Barcelona's. Messi dropped back deep to orchestrate the attack and found great success doing so, isolating Andres Iniesta in front of German Dario Lux after 11 minutes. The veteran's touch let him down, however.

Gerard Pique took a poor angle defending Jonathan Rodriguez, who was played in by a superb ball from Juanfran, but Claudio Bravo made an excellent save to deny the visitors a shock lead.

Rakitic nearly found Sandro at the back post as Barcelona increased the pressure on Deportivo's defence, but despite their dominance, they couldn't test Lux. This fan thought the match perfectly illustrated how important Neymar is to this team:

Deportivo escaped another penalty decision when Suarez went down in the box after some contact, although replays showed a spot-kick would have been a harsh decision. Messi then put Lux to work with a great curling effort, but the goalkeeper was ready for it and tipped the ball away from danger.

Suarez also had another look on goal after the visitors couldn't clear a corner, but he timed his jump wrong and made contact with the ball with his shoulder, rather than his head.

The Galician defence seemed almost impenetrable during the first half, but Messi eventually found the breakthrough with a picture-perfect free-kick.

Luisinho was foolish enough to commit a needless foul 25 yards from his own goal, and the Argentina international punished him for it, curling the ball over the wall and into the top corner.

Sport's Samuel Marsden wasn't surprised:

Squawka Football highlighted how important Barcelona's forwards are to the squad:

Iniesta nearly gifted the visitors an equaliser just before half-time, playing a rushed pass with his back toward his own goal. Jonathan could have been through on goal, but Pique made up for his earlier mistake with a strong intervention, maintaining his team's lead.

Deportivo made a fantastic start to the second half, with Perez testing Bravo early and Jonathan finding the side netting.

A lovely passing move between Messi, Jordi Alba and Suarez saw the latter put the ball in the net, but the linesman had already raised his flag. TV replays seemed to suggest the decision was a bad one, as the Uruguay international was behind the ball the entire time.

With Deportivo creating more danger, the mistake could have been costly, but fortunately for Barcelona, Rakitic soon scored a second goal. Another fine passing move saw the ball land at the Croatian's feet, and he unleashed a thunderous shot, as described by Sport English:

Messi tried his luck from outside the box as well just minutes later, but he couldn't put any power into his shot, and Lux saved easily. 

The visitors introduced Miguel Filipe Nunes Cardoso, and he immediately found himself in a dangerous position on the counter-attack, but his wild effort flew well wide of the target.

Perez took advantage of a poor clearing header from Jeremy Mathieu to pull a goal back for Deportivo, sliding the ball past Bravo with 13 minutes left to play.

Marsden thought he had been vital for the visitors:

Iniesta needed some treatment, which momentarily halted Deportivo's momentum, but as soon as play got back under way, the visitors stunned the Camp Nou by finding an equaliser. Perez again made it happen, finding Bergantinos, who hammered the ball into the top corner.

More from Marsden:

Barcelona threw men forward in a desperate attempt to find a late winner, but to no avail. Deportivo came closest to a winner, but Cardoso hit the side netting.

The Catalans have now drawn two Liga matches in a row, and on Saturday, Neymar's absence was keenly felt. The Brazilian adds pace and trickery out wide to a squad that seems too reliant on attacks down the middle when he isn't playing.

The Blaugrana found a way to deal with Messi's injury earlier this season, but added depth in the attacking third should still be a priority in January. Sandro and Munir are top talents, but neither has shown it so far this season.

Post-Match Reaction

Barcelona manager Luis Enrique praised Deportivo and their smart tactics after the match, per the club's official website:

"

Tactically it was a very different game from what we are accustomed to. They put three players up high to create pressure and went with a seven on seven game in their half. We had everything under control until the thirty-minute mark of the second half.

Deportivo had a brave strategy and in the end the result shows that it worked out for them.

It just goes to show that games aren’t over even when you are up 2–0.

It isn’t the result that we deserved but it shows that we have to be plugged in for all 90 minutes.”

I didn’t see any of my players sit back and relax. 

"

He also acknowledged the substitutions may have affected the result of the match, taking full responsibility.

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