Barca broke the circuit unbeaten in La Liga
Before the match, Barca was expected to win to relieve after being eliminated from the European arena by Man Utd. Barca are unbeaten in the last 13 Almeria matches in La Liga, including 11 wins and two draws, averaging three goals per game. They also did not lose the last 13 matches in La Liga.
But Almeria was shocking. The difference was made in the 24th minute, when El Bilal Toure made a wall for Luis Suarez from a long swing in his own half. The Colombian striker saved a beat and then clicked the ball for Toure to eliminate Andreas Christensen, penetrate the penalty area and then hit the bottom edge of the crossbar to net Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
This is only Barca's eighth goal, and the third time the opponent has conceded first in a game in La Liga this season - the best statistics of the tournament. In the remaining two times, Xavi's army defeated Osasuna 2-1 in November 2022 and lost 1-3 at Real in October.
Yesterday, Barca welcomed the return of Gavi - the midfielder was absent from the 1-2 defeat at Man Utd because of a suspension, but the competition was somewhat ineffective. The visitors controlled the ball 72%, had 13 shots on target with only one on target - compared to Almeria's 6 and 4.
During 90 minutes, Barca crossed 47 shots into the box - their highest number in an away game in La Liga since the 2005-2006 season. And Barca have not won all five games with at least 47 crosses in the tournament during this period, with three draws and two losses.
Almeria could win even more if she took the chance. In the fourth minute of compensation, Adri Embarba did not pass a cross to his teammate, but directly hit Ter Stegen's foot in the face-to-face position. Then, the ball hit a Barca player's foot and bounced back but did not go into the goal.
Receiving the second defeat from the beginning of the tournament, but Barca still holds the top of the table with 59 points, seven points more than Real - the club drew Atletico 1-1 in the early game. On March 2, Xavi's teachers and students will be guests at Real Stadium in the first leg of the semi-finals of the King's Cup on March 2.
