In what needed to be a must-win opportunity for FC Barcelona, they stumble for the first time since a long time in La Liga Santander. Some really lethargic and weak performances culminated in bringing about this loss for the Catalans, and this worrying recent streak of games continues.
Player Ratings:
Marc Andre Ter Stegen: 6.5
Had arguably nothing to do all game bar the one dangerous shot that led to Almeria’s game-changing goal. Quiet night for the Barcelona keeper.
Jordi Alba: 6.0
Absolutely frustrating to watch the whole time he was on the field. Badly timed runs and uncharacteristically bad crosses, a night to forget.
Andreas Christensen: 6.5
Should have arguably positioned himself better for the goal that FC Barcelona ended up conceding. A bit shaky otherwise.
Eric Garcia: 5.0
Bullied for most of the game while he was on the field, the young Spaniard’s case is not helped at all by this performance.
Sergi Roberto: 5.0
Frantic movement and rather sluggish whenever called upon, the veteran had an off night alongside many of his peers.
Sergio Busquets: 6.0
Overwhelmingly lethargic and caught napping by Almeria on so many occasions. Frustrating performance.
Franck Kessie: 6.5
Slightly more active than the other midfielders around him. The Ivorian tried a few smart quick touches and passes, but his teammates seemed to be off his wavelength by a mile.
Frenkie De Jong: 7.0
The Dutchman was arguably one of the better performers, but even he wasn’t without his own faults on the night.
Gavi: 6.5
Not at all the same tenacious teenager that most Blaugrana fans have come to love and adore, the youngster completely seemed off his usual rhythm. Received his fifth yellow card of the season and will miss the next league game.
Robert Lewandowski: 5.5
Both responsible and not responsible for his rather tame performance tonight. Failed to utilize or control most of the passes to him properly, as well as the fact that he wasn’t provided proper service for most of the game.
Ferran Torres: 7.0
Undoubtedly Barcelona’s most effective forward on the night, the Spaniard gave some rather dangerous passes to his fellow forwards but they failed to capitalize on them.
Substitutes:
Raphinha: 6.5
Added a bit more potency to the team’s frontline, but similar to those around him, the Brazilian was frustrating to watch on a lot of occasions as well.
Ronald Araujo: 6.0
The Uruguayan was brought on late to aid in the offense rather than the defense and could have arguably had more chances at goal had him and Lewandowski not constantly strayed in front of one another.
Marcos Alonso: 6.0
Came in to provide much better service into the box than Jordi Alba was able to for the entirety of his time on the field. Could not do much else to impact the game.
Pablo Torre: N/A
Not enough time/influence to warrant a rating.
Angel Alarcon: N/A
Not enough time/influence to warrant a rating.
