FC Barcelona were left to rue the absence of their star forwards as they failed to unlock the defence of a 9-man Malaga and were held to a frustrating draw at the Camp Nou.
It was an opportunity for the Catalan giants to go top of La Liga for the first time since the beginning of the season but instead Luis Enrique’s side showcased just how much they missed the services of the likes of Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi in the line-up.
In the absence of the South-American duo, Neymar ended up having a stinker of an outing and was at the receiving end of fans’ wrath for a poor performance on the night when he was expected to lead that front-line. Moreover, the fact that Barcelona struggled to get one over Malaga even when they were down to nine men added further salt to the wounds for Enrique’s side.
The draw now meant they were four points off the pace at the top of the table with Real Madrid emerging comfortable 3-0 victors over Atletico Madrid in the derby. Fans all around were left to reflect on the performance of Kameni in goal for Malaga and the inability of their own array of stars to step up when it mattered.
Kameni vs Barça
33% pass accuracy, he doesn’t care
20 long balls, 14 inaccurate, he doesn’t care8 saves, all world class.. that’s that.
— Barça Lens (@BarcaLens) November 19, 2016
Kameni the reason why racism exists
— Blaugrana (@DonAndresFCB) November 19, 2016
Remember that this is the same Kameni that did this https://t.co/0dggDzWSbp
— Malte (@MaIteesers) November 19, 2016
Malaga keeper Kameni man of the match today – and was also last keeper [any competition] to keep clean sheet at Cam Nou. Almost 2 years ago.
— Dermot Corrigan (@dermotmcorrigan) November 19, 2016
Barcelona should sign Kameni and just keep him on the bench all season, just so he stops having these masterclasses vs Barca.
— El Maestro (@ElMaestrofcb) November 19, 2016
Kameni was world class today.
FT whistle and he’ll be back to average until the Malaga vs Madrid game.
— Joey (@asensioholic) November 19, 2016
✋ Carlos ‘The Wall’ Kameni ✋
The last man to keep a clean sheet in #LaLiga at the Camp Nou has done it again 32 games later!#BarçaMalaga pic.twitter.com/3sMn1Ur5DI
— LaLiga (@LaLigaEN) November 19, 2016
Carlos Kameni’s remarkable performance against Barca. pic.twitter.com/cLgKcsrUFy
— Football Planet (@iFootballPlanet) November 19, 2016
No Messi
No SuarezBarcelona struggle against nine-man Malaga
➡️https://t.co/TdakJ6cD2P pic.twitter.com/x7F6oQjmd3
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) November 19, 2016
Barcelona draw 0-0 with Malaga and potentially fall 4 points behind Real Madrid. Poor Messi was too ill to play and help his team.
— Liam Canning (@LiamPaulCanning) November 19, 2016
Barcelona 0-0 Malaga FT:
Shots: 22-4
Pass accuracy: 88%-56%
Chances created: 15-2
Possession: 68%-32%
Red cards: 0-2Thwarted. pic.twitter.com/DsMWacFY7j
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) November 19, 2016
9 Malaga men and 8 minutes extra time and Barcelona couldn’t manage to win ?????
— Luna (@Ancelottied) November 19, 2016
Barcelona 1-2 Alaves
1-1 Atletico
1-0 Granada
0-0 Malaga.4 games at Camp Nou this season. Luis Enrique needs to sort this shit out
— Messi World (@MessiWorId) November 19, 2016
No Messi, no Suarez and Barcelona have been held to a 0-0 draw at home to Malaga. Over to Atletico and Real to see who can take advantage…
— John Bennett (@JohnBennettBBC) November 19, 2016
Malaga finish with 9 men. Perfect for the headlines “Barcelona fail to beat 9 men Malaga”
— Juan Velazquez (@JuanDirection57) November 19, 2016
Lionel Messi had to be ruled out of Barcelona’s squad against Malaga due to a stomach ache that got him vomiting #fcblive [fcb]
— Barcastuff (@barcastuff_real) November 19, 2016
Winter has arrived early this season in Barcelona…. pic.twitter.com/gtCjb2cVe2
— Troll Football (@TrollFootball) November 19, 2016
Analysis #LaLiga | #Barcelona vs #Malaga: How to overtake this cohesive, linked and solid defensive block? #LuisEnrique #ChyronHego pic.twitter.com/RzPINRc5LX
— Joao Nuno Fonseca (@joaonunofonseca) November 19, 2016
Real Madrid are 4 points clear of Barcelona at the top of LaLiga and 9 points clear of Atletico Madrid. pic.twitter.com/NR088um557
— Squawka News (@SquawkaNews) November 19, 2016
Barcelona’s problems have been hidden by overwhelming success on pitch, life post Messi something no culé should look forward to.
— Rafael Hernández (@RafaelH117) November 19, 2016
The reliance on Messi is bigger than Lucho or any coach for that matter. It’ll take years for Barcelona to have the same impact w/o Leo
— Ahmad (@ChieflySarcastc) November 19, 2016
For the first time since February 2015, Barcelona have failed to score in a game at home ? pic.twitter.com/lijYxf7UHc
— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) November 19, 2016