Despite a rather stale performance, FC Barcelona emerged victorious against Almeria. A 2-0 scoreline is ultimately what gave Barça all three points, and they will be happy to take those away. Ultimately, Xavi’s Barcelona maintain a good four-point lead over Girona now, and that is what matters most for them.
The hero of the hour, however, was Fermin Lopez this time around. Almost every chance that came his way looked promising, and he delivered with the goods to make sure that Barcelona eventually came out on top with relative ease.
Here are the player ratings for FC Barcelona players.
Player Ratings:
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen: 7.0
The goalkeeper’s distribution was solid and he made sure to make a few important saves in there as well. However, he was frequently let down by his teammates in allowing Almeria some clear-cut opportunities to harm Barcelona.
Hector Fort: 7.5
Given a chance to start instead of Joao Cancelo as the left-back tonight, and Hector Fort made sure to make his mark. He was the one to dispatch the fine cross that reached the head of Fermin Lopez to open the scoring for Barcelona, and he was there to keep track of his defensive work as well.
Inigo Martinez: 6.0
Not his best outing, but a decent one nonetheless. There were a couple of moments where Inigo Martinez was caught lacking by the Almeria forwards, and it could have ended quite badly for Barcelona had fortune not favored them.
Pau Cubarsi: 6.5
Pau Cubarsi, unlike Martinez, seemed to be much more focused than his veteran partner. The youngster was vigilant and active at all times, and this enabled him to dispatch some impressive passes to his teammates at the other end of the field.
Jules Kounde: 7.0
The most reliable defender for Barcelona on the night, Jules Kounde was present across the entire field. Whether in attack or defense, the relentless fullback found himself wherever his Barcelona teammates needed him to be and gave all his support.
Sergi Roberto: 7.0
Given a start by Xavi Hernandez, the veteran Spaniard did well by himself. His distribution was solid, and he had some good ideas that were brought to life by his progressive passing. Solid outing for him.
Pedri: 6.5
The young Spaniard was the one orchestrating almost every positive move for Barcelona, and he was the one ensuring that the Catalan giants redistributed possession in the most effective and efficient of ways.
Fermin Lopez: 8.5
Dynamic as always, but also one step ahead of everyone on the field, Fermin Lopez continues to thrive as an attacking midfielder. Two great finishes from the youngster that even top strikers would envy, Lopez had quite the sensational outing once more.
Ferran Torres: 6.0
Similar to most of the Barcelona forwards tonight, Ferran Torres was hardly influential. Despite making some good runs and having some solid linkup plays with his teammates, the Spaniard was ultimately ineffective against Almeria.
Robert Lewandowski: 6.0
Another underwhelming outing from Robert Lewandowski leaves him without a goal to his name. While his holdup play was still decent and led to some positive forward play, the Polish striker was hardly found in any dangerous positions to threaten the Almeria goal.
Lamine Yamal: 7.0
The only starting forward who looked to be creating and thriving in his position, Lamine Yamal looked as dangerous as always. Despite not having the same level of success in front of goal or in terms of creating opportunities for his teammates as he would have liked, the youngster was still there to be a headache for Almeria.
Substitutes:
Joao Felix: 6.5
Keen to execute some of his more flashy ideas and hopes, Joao Felix added a new spark to the Barcelona attack that was otherwise quite dull to watch, especially on the left-hand side.
Andreas Christensen: 6.0
Brought some much-needed stability and control in the middle of the pitch.
Vitor Roque: N/A
Not enough influence on the game to warrant a rating.
Joao Cancelo: 6.0
Quite progressive whenever he had the ball, Joao Cancelo added a certain positivity to the Barcelona attacks after his introduction.
Oriol Romeu: N/A
Not enough time or influence on the game to warrant a rating.
