Almería: Rubén; Ximo Navarro, Fran Vélez, Trujillo, Dubarbier; Verza, Azeez; Thomas (Wellington Silva 86‘), Soriano (Hemed 69‘), Jonathan Zongo; Thievy (Edgar 78‘). 4-2-3-1.
Barcelona: Bravo; Adriano, Mascherano, Marc Bartra, Jordi Alba; Rakitic, Busquets (Xavi 65‘), Rafinha; Munir (Luis Suárez 46’), Messi, Pedro (Neymar 46’). 4-3-3.
Goals:
1-0. 37. Thievy. Picked up Soriano pass and ran on to curl shot past Bravo
1-1. 73. Neymar. Connected with Luis Suárez cross to turn shot past Rubén.
1-2. 82. Jordi Alba. Steered shot in to net from Luis Suárez’s lofted cross.
Yellow cards: Thomas 30’, Soriano 34’.
Barcelona moved temporarily to the top of the table after coming from behind to beat Almería 1-2 in the first match on Saturday, although Real Madrid’s win later in the evening left them in second spot by the end of the day. Coach Luis Enrique surprisingly left Neymar and Luis Suárez on the bench (as well as Xavi, Piqué and Alves), but Messi was in the starting line-up, and he and Munir had early shots saved by Rubén. A few minutes later the keeper blocked a Rakitic header, Messi heading the rebound against the bar, but soon afterwards the locals took the lead on a quick counter-attack, Thievy picking up Soriano’s through ball and running through to steer a shot wide of Bravo. Luis Enrique repented at the break, bringing on Suárez and Neymar, the former volleying a shot against the bar and the latter heading another chance just wide. But Almería held on until the 73 rd minute, when Suárez laid the ball across for Neymar to drive home the equalizer. Suárez fired a shot wide across goal and Messi steered yet another header against the bar, and with eight minutes left on the clock Suárez lifted the ball across the defence for Jordi Alba to bounce a shot past Rubén. A much needed win for Barça after their two recent defeats, but still not the most convincing of performances. Almería themselves can take heart from their achievements, although they have still to win at home this season, and they ended the day just a point above the drop zone pending Sunday’s games.