Barcelona picked up their second consecutive 1-0 victory of the La Liga season with a dominant performance against Malaga.
Thomas Vermaelen was the unlikely Barca hero on an evening where Lionel Messi was frustrated by a superb shot-stopping performance by Carlos Kameni.
You can win with one defender (just about)
Barca lined up with a back four of Jordi Alba, who would be a left-winger for 99% of other teams in the world, midfielder Sergi Roberto at right-back and Javier Mascherano, realistically a midfielder, alongside Vermaelen. Ironically, the sole recognised defender scored the only goal of the match, but Barca showed that you can, just about, win a game of football with just one real defender on the pitch.
Vermaelen could be putting in a bid to be Gerard Pique’s permanent partner at the heart of the Barcelona defence. The Belgian looked solid against Malaga and rarely put a foot wrong as he marshalled an unorthodox-looking defence.
Barca’s counter-attack concerns
Malaga could and should have been ahead on several occasions before half time at the Nou Camp. Juan Carlos’ shot from the halfway line went inches over the bar with Claudio Bravo stranded, and Nordin Amrabat should have put Duje Cop in on goal as the visitors broke on 20 minutes.
Despite the hosts’ dominance, the Malaga counter-attack caused Barca’s makeshift defence all sorts of problems throughout the match. Cop should have found Amrabat with the Dutch forward clean through on goal as the visitors counter-attacked on 40 minutes and then should have teed up Charles for a tap-in as Malaga found themselves with a three-on-three opportunity on the hour mark.
Malaga should also have equalised with the last kick of the match, as substitute Charles fluffed his lines from six yards out with the goal gaping.
Barca’s vulnerability to the counter-attack will be a huge cause for concern for manager Luis Enrique, especially with a huge visit to title rivals Atletico Madrid up next after the international break. Sides of better quality than Malaga would have punished Barca’s defensive vulnerabilities tonight and, in truth, they were lucky to win a match they dominated.
Messi got owned by Kameni
It is highly unusual to see Messi have six shots on target and not score a single one of them, but that is exactly what happened tonight thanks to the brilliance of Carlos Kameni.
The Malaga goalkeeper surpassed four hours without conceding against Barcelona on the half-hour mark, having kept clean sheets in both fixtures against the champions last season and the Cameroonian put on a stunning display of shot-stopping to deny Messi yet again at the Nou Camp. A string of saves against the Argentinian magician included a superb diving save from a curled left-footed shot on the hour mark, a strong stop from a powerful drive five minutes later and a full-length dive to prevent Messi’s venomous 30-yard drive on 70 minutes.
Kameni had a superb night against Messi, but his weak flap to send a cross into the path of Vermaelen for the only goal of the match may be a hint at why he has not managed to play for a top European club.
Barca do not always get all the decisions
A criticism often laid against Barcelona is that they regularly get too many decisions in their favour from referees, but that was not the case against Malaga as the hosts were denied a series of penalty appeals.
Barca should have been awarded a penalty on 38 minutes as Miguel Torres clearly prevented Neymar from cutting in towards goal with a blatant handball. Then two minutes later Luis Suarez was denied a clear cut penalty after being crudely hacked down from behind by Marcos Angeleri as he raced down on goal.
Javier Mascherano will never score for Barca
The diminutive midfielder-turned-defender has still never scored for Barcelona in 235 appearances for the club. He showed why that is the case as he missed a sitter of a header from six yards out on 25 minutes, then blazed a wild shot miles over the bar from 25 yards shortly after half time. While his key responsibilities are now preventing the opposition from scoring, a Mascherano goal for Barca looks increasingly unlikely.
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