Barcelona player ratings vs Almeria: Robert Lewandowski and Gavi FLOP as embarrassing defeat opens title-race door for Real Madrid

Xavi's side suffered a second damaging defeat in the space of four days as they put in a miserable display on Sunday

Robert Lewandowski failed to make and impact while Gavi didn't create much as Barcelona suffered a disappointing 1-0 loss to 19th-placed Almeria to allow Real Madrid back into La Liga's title race.

Almeria took the lead against the run of play, with El Bilal Toure lashing a shot in off the bar after running through on goal.

Barca pushed for an equaliser before half time, but failed to carve out a clear opening against a dogged Almeria back line.

The Blaugrana looked void of ideas after the break and lacked movement in the final third — with Robert Lewandowski often caught static.

Madrid are still seven points behind Xavi's league-leaders, but the door is back open after it looked like it might be about to shut on the defending champions.

GOAL rates Barcelona's players from Estadio Mediterraneo...

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Goalkeeper & Defence
Marc Andre ter Stegen (6/10):
Couldn't do anything about Toure's fantastic strike. Solid otherwise, with one impressive save at the end.
Sergi Roberto (5/10):
Looked eager to get forward and had very few defensive responsibilities.
Andreas Christensen (5/10):
Lost Toure on the goal in pretty much his only serious defensive task.
Eric Garcia (5/10):
Unsteady when put under pressure. Showed exactly why he's not in contention for a starting spot.
Jordi Alba (5/10):
Started well, but looked leggy in his first La Liga start in two weeks. Didn't recover quickly enough for Almeria's opener.

Midfield
Franck Kessie (5/10):
Didn't get forward consistently enough and played only one pass into the final third. Deservedly removed at half-time.
Sergio Busquets (5/10):
Did all of the standard defensive stuff, but was loose in possession.
Frenkie de Jong (6/10):
Followed one of his best showings of the season with an underwhelming performance. Lots of nice stuff, little tangible impact.
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Attack
Ferran Torres (5/10):
Promising against Manchester United on Thursday, ineffective against Almeria on Sunday. Switched flanks at half-time to no avail.
Robert Lewandowski (4/10):
Was bought to impact these kinds of games. However, Lewandowski was nowhere to be found, and missed a few good chances.
Gavi (3/10):
Very poor. Didn't get on the ball enough, lost his temper, and was fortunate not to be sent off for dissent. Is now suspended for the next league game, too.

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Subs & Manager
Raphinha (6/10):
Offered some extra legs in the second half. Looked lively early, but crumbled late on.
Marcos Alonso (6/10):
Replaced a leggy Alba, didn't have much to do.
Ronald Araujo (4/10):
Played as a striker in the final minutes of the game. Missed three chances, mostly because he isn't a striker.
Angel Alarcon (6/10):
Put a shot on target in his La Liga debut.
Pablo Torre (6/10):
Energtic, looked to make things happen. Shouldn't be tasked with turning these games around.
Xavi (3/10):
Made a number of changes after an exhausting fixture on Thursday, but couldn't get a performance out of his team. Barca looked tired, and failed to score against La Liga's second-worst defence. Embarrassing.

Goalkeeper & Defence

Midfield

Attack

Subs & Manager