Barcelona Stunned by Malaga 2-0 as Title Hopes Dealt Blow
Sandro Ramirez dented Barcelona's La Liga title hopes by scoring Malaga's first goal in a 2-0 win against his old club at La Rosaleda on Saturday. Substitute Jony Rodriguez wrapped up the scoring just before stoppage time against an unusually sluggish Barca.
Barcelona's cause also wasn't helped by Neymar getting sent off in the second half after a second booking.
Sandro, who was let go on a free transfer by Barca last summer, helped make sure the Blaugrana missed the chance to draw level on points with bitter rivals Real Madrid at the top.
Los Blancos remain three points clear of Barca despite being held 1-1 by Atletico Madrid in the derby at the Santiago Bernabeu earlier in the day.
Barca boss Luis Enrique went with four at the back but mixed things up in midfield by including Denis Suarez and Andre Gomes ahead of Andres Iniesta and Ivan Rakitic. Meanwhile, the hosts started Pablo Fornals, as noted by La Liga's official Twitter account:
Exchanges were intense and physical early on, but Barca produced a moment of true class on 15 minutes. Left-back Jordi Alba split the Malaga defence with a beautifully lofted pass that Suarez controlled superbly on his chest before shooting on the turn.
However, the Uruguayan attacker found Malaga goalkeeper Carlos Kameni equal to the shot. Sky Sports Statto noted how Suarez has found Malaga a rare stubborn opponent in his quest for goals:
Barca should have been in front just shy of the half-hour mark when Messi slid in Gomes with a delightful reverse pass. Yet the Portuguese midfielder allowed himself to be too easily muscled off the ball by Roberto Rosales.
It proved a costly miss when Sandro was sprung in behind by a terrific long ball over the top. Barcelona defender Jeremy Mathieu was hopelessly out of position and played Sandro onside before the striker deceived 'keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen at his near post.
The omens weren't good for Barca based on the history these two teams share regarding first goals:
Meanwhile, Yahoo Sport UK's Andrew Gaffney was scathing in his assessment of Mathieu:
Malaga continued to pose a threat with their pace and direct running. Juanpi was the next to get beyond a nervy Barca back four, but he blasted over.
The visitors weren't making the most of their dominance of possession, and they clearly missed the ingenuity of Iniesta along with the intelligently timed runs of Rakitic. Lacking guile on the ball meant Barca couldn't find a response to Sandro's goal before the break.
Enrique wisely withdrew Denis Suarez for Iniesta at the break while also swapping Mathieu for Sergi Roberto. However, Malaga almost went two up when Juan Carlos crossed for Sandro, who would have had a tap-in had Samuel Umtiti not turned the ball behind.
Malaga wasted an even better chance shortly before the hour mark when Iniesta's careless giveaway let Sandro run clear. The goalscorer rolled across for Juanpi, who inexplicably shot straight at Ter Stegen.
Needing goals, Enrique hauled off Gomes in favour of striker Paco Alcacer.
The change gave Barca greater impetus, and they should have been level when Messi released Neymar with an exquisite pass. He crossed low for Suarez, but the ex-Liverpool star bafflingly stepped over the ball on the penalty spot and the danger passed.
Suarez nearly made amends when he rounded Kameni before crossing back for Neymar, who angled his header over the bar.
Barcelona's rough night got worse when Neymar was red-carded after picking up a second yellow following a late tackle on Ignacio Camacho. Gaffney felt Neymar had allowed himself to be rattled by Camacho, a player on a booking himself who had made his share of fouls:
Substitute and Watford loanee Adalberto Penaranda had the ball in the back of the net for Malaga, but the linesman's flag incorrectly ruled out the goal. Javier Mascherano then got lucky when his foul on Fornals was judged to have taken place just outside the box rather than inside it.
Barcelona were then denied a penalty when Roberto appeared to be felled inside the box by substitute Charles. In what would have been a cruel twist, Charles should have doubled Malaga's lead seconds later after the hosts again broke at pace. However, Ter Stegen easily saved the substitute's tame shot down low.
Yet it was another replacement, Jony, who wrapped up the points on the verge of stoppage time. Charles released Fornals on the break, who wisely and expertly pulled back for Jony to blast home.
Real's draw actually means they have increased their advantage over Barca. Coupled with Los Merengues' game in hand, these results could mean the title race is already over.
Post-Match Reaction
Enrique was raised questions about the referee's performance, specifically the awarding of several yellow cards, beginning with a reference to Neymar's bookings, per ESPN FC's Samuel Marsden: "I think the interpretation of yellow cards is special."
Enrique also felt Malaga escaped punishment for several offences, per Marsden: "It's curious that a team like us that doesn't usually kick people get so many yellow cards in such an incomprehensible manner. Then there are players on the other team that during the game commit fouls and don't get any cards. It's curious, but we're used to it."
Even so, Enrique felt like his team still merited all three points, per Barcelona's official Twitter account:
Meanwhile, Mascherano felt Barca weren't sharp enough to outwit Malaga's smart approach, per the same source:
An uncharacteristically sluggish performance has come at the worst time in the season for Barca, who were handed the initiative in the title race by Real, but couldn't seize it.
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