The team stepped on to the pitch at Camp Nou full of determination, and with a diaphanous plan of play: close lines, a five-pronged defence and reinforcements of four midfielders, with Sandro at the front to hunt down the counter-attacks. The Canaries-born striker, on his return to Barcelona, caused certain danger in minute 6 with a rapid attack. Neymar in minute 8’ responded with a left-footer to Kameni’s right post, with the keeper preventing a shot at the target from Piqué following a corner.
The home side generated gameplay on the right, with the rise of Sergi Roberto, and the falls of Turan and Rafinha. The Spanish-Brazilian kicked the ball over the crossbar in minute 20, just before a fast and powerful Sandro finished with a promising shot which forced two saves from Stegen (22’). Juande’s men gained confidence at the back as time went on, with Mikel, Llorente (new) and Torres (200 LaLiga matches) solid on the central line.
An excellent save by Kameni in minute 30 stopped Rafinha opening the scoring in the heart of the area. MCF’s defensive performance was bearing fruit, and only a shot from Busquets, following a lengthy collective display from the home side, generated some unease in minute 43. At half-time, the scoreboard was a level 0-0.
In the second half, Mikel came out on top over Neymar (46’) in a dangerous action inside the area, in what was an imperial performance by the Venezuelan left-winger. Juankar, in minute 56, had the clearest chance for Málaga to take the lead with a shot from the right that narrowly missed the target. In minute 68, Llorente was shown the red card for a foul on Neymar. Subsequently, homegrown player, Luis Muñoz made his debut in the elite, substituting Ontiveros, who was in the starting line-up for the first time this season.
Being at a numerical disadvantage didn’t alter the Blue and Whites’ scheme of play, as they remained completely focused on maintaining a strong defence. Neymar tried to break it down on various occasions coming from the left, whilst Piqué as a striker was a danger with his aerial play. En-Nesyri came on in place of Sandro (80’), and a minute later, Rakitic narrowly missed out on a header into goal, but the ball didn’t find the net, and instead came up against the giant figure of Carlos Kameni.
In stoppage time, the Cameroonian goalkeeper multiplied to stop two clamorous occasions for Barça. In minute 93, he prevented a close-range header from Neymar; and in the 95th minute, anticipated André Gomes with an heroic display. In minute 96, De Burgos Bengoetxea left Málaga with just nine men as he sent off Juankar. And after seven eternal minutes of extra time, the ref blew the final whistle and Málaga bring home a very hard-fought point from the reigning LaLiga Santander champions. An epic 0-0 draw which gives MCF 16 points to remain in a mid-table position in the rankings.
