Losing to Malaga, Barca missed the chance to take the lead from Real

Barca lost 0-2 to host Malaga in round 31 of La Liga, in a match in which Neymar received a red card.

Goals: Sandro 32', Jony 90'

Playing a few hours later than Real's draw with Atletico, Barca would have gone top of La Liga if they had won against Malaga. And Luis Enrique's team missed a golden opportunity by losing away to the 14th-placed team.

Messi and his teammates did not play as well as fans expected. Photo: Reuters

Barca conceded the first goal when they fell into Malaga's sharp counter-attack trap in the 32nd minute. Sandro Ramirez, the striker whom Barca sold to Malaga in the summer of 2016, opened the score easily after running down to face goalkeeper Ter Stegen.

Barca not only lost first but also failed to take advantage of the few chances to equalize. Messi, Neymar and Suarez all lacked the necessary precision in front of goalkeeper Carlos Kameni. Not only that, the away team alsofell into a 10 vs 11 situation from the 65th minute after Neymar received a direct red card for a tackle onDiego Llorente.

With one more player, Malaga had more opportunities to counter-attack. In the 90th minute, three home players only had to face one Barca defender, and Jony easily finished to secure a 2-0 victory.

Jony kicked the ball into the middle of the Barca goal.

If they had taken advantage of their early chances, Barca might not have conceded defeat. In the 15th minute, Suarez charged down to face goalkeeper Kameni but the ball bounced back. About 15 minutes later, after a pass from Messi, Andre Gomes also nearly faced the Malaga goalkeeper before being pushed down by an opposing defender.

Barca were forced to pay the price for failing to capitalise on their chances and for being lax in defence. Malaga’s pass in the 32nd minute was so precise that Sandro Ramirez needed just a split second to run down the pitch and face Ter Stegen, setting up a perfect shot into the near corner.

Sadro (left) celebrates scoring against his former team.

Barca had many free kicks in front of Malaga's goal but were unsuccessful. Messi often shot over the bar or bounced off the wall.

If they had taken their chances more carefully, Malaga could have scored early to make it 2-0. In the 57th minute, Juanpi had a chance to face Ter Stegen but shot straight into his path. In another situation, Penaranda put the ball into Barca's net before being ruled out for offside.

Meanwhile, the number of chances that Barca had from the beginning of the second half was not much more than the first half. The most notable was Suarez's escape that forced goalkeeper Kameni to rush out to close the angle. Not long after that, Suarez crossed the ball for Neymar to head over the bar.

After losing to Malaga, Barca are stuck with 69 points. The leading team Real now has three more points, and has played one game less. If they win the El Clasico on April 23, Real can move closer to the championship goal.

According to VNE