Barcelona came from behind to beat Almeria 2-1 in La Liga on Saturday afternoon.
The home side took the lead after 37 minutes courtesy of a cool finish from Thievy Bifouma.
However, second-half goals from Neymar and Jordi Alba secured all the points for the Catalan outfit, who now sit temporarily top of the table.
Here, Sports Mole dissects the 90 minutes of action between the two La Liga rivals.
Match statistics
ALMERIA
Shots: 6
On target: 2
Possession: 27%
Corners: 4
Fouls: 16
BARCELONA
Shots: 18
On target: 6
Possession: 73%
Corners: 5
Fouls: 9
Was the result fair?
In truth, Barcelona just about, and only just about, deserved to pick up all three points on Saturday afternoon. Almeria were much the better team in the first period and deserved to take a one-goal lead into the interval, but the hosts were guilty of dropping deeper and deeper as the second half advanced. When Barca scored their first, it was only a matter of time before they scored another due to the amount of pressure that was being put on the home side's defence. Almeria will feel that their display was worthy of at least a point, but the statistics demonstrate that the Catalan outfit were in control for long periods of the match. It was far from convincing from Luis Enrique's side, but they now sit temporarily top of the division.
Almeria's performance
The home side entered this match off the back of three successive defeats in the league, but they had the look of a team that was flying high in the division. Jonathan Zongo and Thievy both caused Barca all sorts of problems with their pace and direct running and there is no question that they deserved to take the lead. The hosts really needed a second, however, and when that did not arrive, Barcelona took confidence and eventually claimed all the points. Almeria have played worse than this and won this season, but they can take many positives from their performance this afternoon. In fact, Barca boss Enrique was so worried by Almeria in the first period that he was forced to introduce both Luis Suarez and Neymar at the interval.
Barcelona's performance
When the teamsheets were handed in little over an hour before kickoff, there were a number of surprises in the Barcelona XI. Messi - of course - retained his spot in attack, but there were starts for Munir El-Haddadi and Pedro, with Suarez and Neymar on the bench. The former two failed to impress, however, which led to the two obvious changes at the interval. Put simply, Barca were really poor in the first period, with Ivan Rakitic and Sergio Busquets failing to make their mark in midfield and Messi attempting to go alone all too often. Defensively they were also shaky, with Almeria's front two causing a host of problems. Barca's second-half performance was not exactly brilliant, but there was an improvement from the first and eventually they turned the match around. It was also a positive second half for Suarez, who assisted both goals after entering at the break.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Luis Suarez: The attacker is still waiting for his first Barcelona goal, while he started this afternoon's match on the bench. The Uruguay international was called for at the interval, however, and he was impressive in the second period - rattling the crossbar with an effort of his own and setting up both of his side's goals. The performance will do his confidence the world of good.
Biggest gaffe
It is not often that Messi is named in this category, but the biggest gaffe goes to the Argentine this time. It was the attacker that was guilty of clumsily losing possession moments before Almeria took the lead. Messi attempted to take on the entire Almeria defence when a pass was on, but lost the ball just outside the box. Seconds later, Fernando Soriano had fed Thievy, who finished expertly into the bottom corner. It was one dribble too many.
Referee performance
Referee Alberto Undiano had a fairly simple 90 minutes this afternoon. The Spaniard issued just the two yellow cards - both of which came in the first period. There were also a couple of penalty shouts, but neither carried any weight. Overall, Undiano was not really seen, which is always a good sign for an official.
What next?
Almeria: Almeria return to La Liga action against Granada on November 24.
Barcelona: Also after the international break, Barcelona welcome an ever-improving Sevilla side to the Camp Nou.
Matt Law
