February 26, (THEWILL) – La Liga leaders Barcelona were dealt a shock 1-0 defeat against relegation-threatened Almeria on Sunday.
The loss marked the first time that Almeria has beaten Barcelona, with the club’s first-ever victory coming courtesy of El Bilal Toure’s first-half goal.
Barcelona missed the opportunity to extend their lead at the top of La Liga to double digits following Real Madrid’s draw in the Madrid derby on Saturday. Despite starting the day in 19th place, Almeria proved to be formidable opponents at their Power Horse Stadium.
The hosts lived up to their reputation, unsettling Barcelona with an early onslaught of pressure before taking the lead in the 24th minute. Toure fought off Andreas Christensen to cushion a long ball down to his strike partner, Luis Suarez, before spinning behind Barcelona’s centre-back to receive a return pass and crashing the opening goal off the underside of the bar.
In the final 45 minutes, La Blaugrana had practically all of the possession and opportunities, but they did not put Martinez to the test nearly enough and were successfully repelled by Almeria’s defence, which Rodrigo Ely ably led. Barca will next face arch-rivals, Real Madrid, in the Copa del Rey final on Thursday, while Almeria welcome Villarreal to Power Horse Stadium on Saturday.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
