Less than four days after the biggest comeback in Champions league history, Barcelona were beyond poor as they fell to Deportivo La Coruna and a costly defeat in the title race. Joselu punished the Catalans after a first half fumble from Marc-Andre ter Stegen to put the hosts ahead with his third league goal of the season.
Luis Suarez, who massacred Deportivo with four goals at the Riazor last season, got the visitors back on track after the break with a thumping finish. But Deportivo had other ideas, captain Alex Bergantinos' header finished things off with less 15 minutes remaining.
Also Read: PSG win cost Barcelona at Depor, concedes Luis Enrique
Barcelona were on a six-match unbeaten run in the league coming into the fixture and now have lost the top spot in the La Liga, with Real Madrid two points ahead of them and also have a game in hand.
The impressive Deportivo side are on a four-match unbeaten run under new boss Pepe Mel. Here are the player ratings from the game
Deportivo La Coruna
German Lux: 8/10
The Deportivo goalkeeper could do very little about Luis Suarez’s thumping shot for the equaliser but otherwise didn’t do too much wrong. He made a few incredible saves to deny a determined Barcelona front line.
Juanfran: 8/10
Juanfran did well defending against Denis Suarez but did even better attacking, constantly threatening Barcelona with good runs.
Alejandro Arribas: 8.5/10
The only mistake the 27-year-old made was accidentally knocking the ball into the path of Luis Suarez, but aside from that error, the Spaniard put a wonderful display against both strikers and Leo Messi.
Raul Albentosa: 8.5/10
One of the standout players for Deportivo, the 28-year-old seemed to be in the right place at the right time and made crucial interceptions to stop the Barcelona's trio.
Fernando Navarro: 7/10
The left back was put under immense pressure on the left wing, but he handled it brilliantly and helped stop more than his share of crosses into the Deportivo box.
Alex Bergantinos: 8.5/10
Bergantinos performed sensationally alongside Borges, and it was his wonderful header that would eventually turn out to be the winning goal.
Celso Borges: 7/10
Borges impressed in both ends of the pitch. He dropped back in timely fashion to defend whenever required and was always the first to burst forward on the attack.
Bruno Gama: 7.5/10
Gama caused problems for the Barcelona defence on the wings time after time, and also did his bit defending, dropping back to help out defensively.
Carles Gil: 7/10
The former Aston Villa midfielder looked very sharp during his hour on the pitch and was Deportivo’s best outlet in attack. He was especially good on the counter attack with several of his quick forward runs causing major problems for the visitors.
Faycal Fajr: 6.5/10
Fajr wasn’t given too many chances to swing crosses in towards the Barcelona box, but when he did, he put in teasing balls. The Moroccan midfielder should have converted his late chance to give the home side an even bigger lead.
Joselu: 8/10
Led the front line brilliantly and did well for his goal after a mistake from Ter Stegen and was always making himself a nuisance when Deportivo broke forward.
Substitutes
Emre Colak: 7/10
He saw very little of the ball, but it was his brilliant corner that found Bergantinos for Deportivo’s winning goal.
Gael Kakuta: 7/10
He was outstanding after coming on to the pitch, defending and counter-attacking with real determination and passion.
Laure: 6/10
He did his bit to see Deportivo over the line after coming on late in the match.
Barcelona
Marc Ter Stegen: 6/10
The Barcelona goalkeeper pulled off an excellent save to deny the Deportivo striker, only to fumble the ball less than a minute later right into Joselu’s path for the first goal. The German was beaten again by Alex Bergantinos for the winning goal.
Javier Mascherano: 4/10
The Argentine pushed forward in the second half as Barcelona chased a late goal and was often guilty of leaving space available behind him.
Gerard Pique: 5/10
Barcelona’s better defensive performer, but not by much, the big Spaniard offered a dangerous attacking threat from set-pieces.
Jordi Alba: 4.5/10
He was at fault for the second goal, after he failed to deal with Bergantinos, who rose high above him far too easily. But despite Barcelona’s dominance of possession, the left-back had little to do at the back.
Denis Suarez: 5/10
Suarez stayed out on the wide right and then, later on, the left flanks, and sent a few good crosses into the Deportivo box but was too greedy on a few occasions.
Sergi Roberto: 5/10
Roberto slotted well into his preferred position in the Barcelona midfield, before shifting back after Barcelona switched to their preferred 4-3-3 formation. However, he produced his share of good passes and caused a few problems with intelligent runs.
Sergio Busquets: 3/10
The Spaniard played at the base of the Barcelona midfield, where he had his share of problems defensively and misfired more than his share of passes over the pitch.
Andre Gomes: 4/10
Gomes was given a start, but found it difficult to find too much space, thanks to the diligent pressing by the Deportivo midfielders.
Lionel Messi: 4/10
Messi had his worst game in La Liga, as the Argentine struggled to find any space against a well-organised and defensively solid Deportivo backline. He had a free-kick chance right at the end which could have equalised the scoreline, which the 29-year-old fired wide.
Luis Suarez: 6/10
The former Liverpool man thumped in the equaliser with a wonderful shot inside the penalty area, but was denied a second goal after a brilliant save by Lux.
Arda Turan: 5/10
Operated as a left-wing-back for most of the game and spent a lot of the game out wide. Despite making a few good runs, the Turkish man failed to make an impact and was eventually substituted off.
Substitutes:
Andres Iniesta: 5/10
He did his best after coming on, and tried his very best to find a way through the Deportivo defence, but just couldn’t help his side find the decisive second goal.
Ivan Rakitic: 5/10
Rakitic made his share of good runs and passes deep inside the opposition half but just wasn’t as influential as he usually is.
Paco Alcacer: 4/10
The youngster came on with less than 15 minutes left in the game but was invisible as Barcelona pushed for an equaliser.
