Juande Ramos' Malaga pulled off an unexpected clean-sheet against an under-strength Barcelona side which was plagued by injury and suspensions. A young Malaga team dug in deep to thwart Blaugrana juggernaut to earn a credible point.
Barcelona without Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, who missed the game due to illness and suspension respectively, were flaccid, to say the least. Carlos Kameni put in a breathtaking performance between the sticks which took the visitors over the line with a clean sheet for the home side. Here are the player ratings from this one-sided stalemate at Camp Nou.
Barcelona
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen – 7/10
The German was hardly troubled in the game by the Malaga forwards. He did well to eke out a few comfortable saves whenever he was summoned to guard Barca’s goal.
Lucas Digne – 7/10
The young left-back proved to be a good outlet for the Barca attacks, but he was let down by his teammates who occupied the central positions with their lack of movement. It seems he is finally finding his groove in Catalonia.
Javier Mascherano – 7/10
It was a routine performance by the veteran defender whose offensive contribution outweighed his defensive duties due to the lop-sided nature of the game. He could’ve been a bit sharper in defence especially when Pique was pushed up front.
Gerard Piqué – 8/10
The most hated man in Madrid made his comeback to the Blaugrana starting XI in style. He consistently helped the hosts in building their attacks from deep as well as playing as a pseudo support striker for the majority of the second half. And the way managed his former team-mate and Malaga’s talisman; Sandro Ramirez was simply exceptional. It was a vintage display from the local boy.
Sergi Roberto – 8/10
The La Masia prodigy was at his very best in the first half as he ran riot down the right showing why he is preferred over some specialist right-backs by Luis Enrique. Solid and agile, he was unplayable at most of the times. He also was great in a slightly
Rafinha – 7/10
He probably was the closest of all the Barcelona players to score, but his finishing let him down. It was a robust display by the midfielder in the left sided channel, but he lacked the cutting edge to slice open a strong Malaga defence.
Sergio Busquets – 7/10
The Spanish pass-master was asked to do a lot more than just recycling the possession as his team was being stranded by some reliable Malaga defending. He tried a lot to create space for his team-mates but couldn’t pick a killer pass to fill in the midfield void in Iniesta’s absence.
Denis Suárez – 6/10
The prodigal midfielder looked out of his depth against the visitors’ defensive organisation. He was started over the likes of Rakitic and Andre Gomes but failed to grab his opportunity with a poor display, which was devoid of creativity expected of a Barcelona midfielder.
Neymar – 6/10
He did everything he could to score a goal and to create for his teammates, but all his hard work was undone by his fellow attackers’ clumsy finishing. He had some difficulty in dealing with Rosales and Ontiveros in the first half. The only thing he missed tonight was Messi and Suarez.
Paco Alcácer – 6/10
Barca’s summer marquee signing flattered to deceive one and all as he struggled to hold his own against the Malaga defenders. The 23-year-old was lethargic with his movement especially in the first half where he almost bumped into a Malaga player every time he made a run. Along with this, his finishing was poor, to say the least.
Arda Turan – 6/10
The Turkish international was great in the first half but couldn’t up his game in the second half. His inability to put in a decent cross when from wide was his Achilles’ heel. He failed to provide his team with the necessary width to stretch a compact Malaga defence.
Subs
Jordi Alba – 6/10
He replaced Digne at around the hour mark but failed to make his yard of pace over Rosales count as he was quickly shunted out on the left flank. A full-back known to deliver accurate crosses, tonight, he belied his reputation.
Andre Gomes – 6/10
He created a couple of excellent chances but some sorry finishing combined with last minute defending made his cameo unworthy.
Ivan Rakitic – 6/10
He was Lucho’s last roll of the dice to sneak three points from this game but he like his fellow midfielders he too failed to break past the visitors’ rearguard.
Malaga
Carlos Kameni – 9/10
The former Espanyol shot-stopper was at his best tonight. He made save after save to deny a barrage of Barcelona’s attacks for almost 97 minutes. It was a performance which will be remembered for ages at the Camp Nou.
Mikel Villanueva – 8/10
The Venezuelan centre-half was at his majestic best at the Camp Nou. He practically shunted Alcacer out of the game. Also, he was smart in dealing with Pique, who troubled his defence with his aerial prowess in the second half.
Miguel Torres – 7/10
Like any Madridista plying against Barca, he too played with some ferocity and intent. He played an able sidekick to Villanueva by covering his tracks with his smart positioning and strong tackling.
Diego Llorente – 5/10
The Real Madrid loanee was everything like his fellow Madridista, Torres but a moment of madness undid all his good work in front of the defence. The highly rated youngster managed to hold his own against the likes of Rafinha and Suarez by nipping quite a few attacks right in the bud.
Federico Ricca – 8/10
The left-back was facing the heat in the first half from Turan and Sergi, but he looked like a different player in the second half as he virtually paralysed Barca’s right flank with his skillful defending which was based on some classic hard-tackling approach coupled with a no-nonsense attitude.
R. Rosales – 7/10
He deserves special mention for simply holding his fort against the deadly duo of Neymar and Alba. He was beaten by the wily Brazilian almost at will, yet he somehow upset the applecart with some classical defending. His contribution is immense considering the majority of Barca’s moves came from his flank.
Juan Carlos – 6/10
He arguably had the best chance of the game to score but he too like Barcelona’s forwards was bitten by the sloppy finishing bug. He was rock-solid while defending as he along with Fornals was crucial in forcing Barca out wide.
Juanpi – 6/10
He was expected to be the Albicelestes’ primary outlet to hit the hosts’ on the counter, but such was Barca’s domination that he was reduced to a mere wingback supporting his fullback. He duly fulfilled his defensive duties, but he let his team down on the offensive front.
Pablo Fornals – 7/10
He was deployed in an unfamiliar midfield role where his primary objective was to press Barca in midfield to foil their passing from the middle of the park. The 20-year-old midfielder did exactly that by strangulating home team’s free-flowing passing in the midfield.
Javi Ontiveros – 6/10
It was an anonymous display by the Malaga youngster. He did put in a shift down the right flank to contain the likes of Neymar and Digne. He was abruptly hauled off post-Llorente’s red card.
Sandro Ramírez – 5/10
It was a poor display by the former Barcelona forward. He struggled to create space when faced Pique and looked horribly off paced against the home team’s defenders. He had a couple of chances in the first half, but couldn’t convert it.
Substitutes
Luis Munoz – 7/10
The teenage defender put up a brave fight against the behemoths from Catalonia on their own turf by denying them a well-deserved goal. He threw his body down the line with some last ditch defending. More importantly, he brought in the required stability in Malaga’s defence after the premature exit of Diego Llorente.
Youssef En-Nesyri – 6/10
The Moroccan was brought on just to relieve a tired Sandro, who was already struggling to get his way around the home team’s defence.
Duda – N/A
It was just a time wasting substitution.
