Barcelona and Malaga played out a goalless draw as the Primera leaders struggled to get past an impressive home defence.
Despite starting with Lionel Messi, Neymar and Pedro Rodriguez – the same front three that plundered five goals against Levante – La Blaugrana lacked spark and failed to get a shot on target in the entire match.
Both sides made a handful of changes from their previous fixtures – Douglas getting a Barca debut – but the only lack of fluency on show was from the visitors, not the hosts. Neither did the awful pitch hamper proceedings in any meaningful fashion despite the turf looking distinctly ropey and dusty in patches.
The opening stages were tame with half-chances for both sides, including a Lionel Messi free kick from 25 yards that sailed over the crossbar and a loose ball that sat up nicely for Sergi Darder, but his well-struck drive was wide.
Malaga’s composed defence made it difficult for Barca to find a way through while their breaks couldn’t be sustained long enough to seriously trouble Claudio Bravo at first. The home side did an excellent job of defending the space and, as the first half went on, signs of Barca frustration started to appear, mostly from Neymar.
The beginning of the second half mirrored the first in its level of intensity, with the amount of chances regressing further. The ball spent most of its time around the Barca third but Malaga didn’t make much of the territory gained.
Luis Enrique introduced Sandro Ramirez and Munir El Haddadi after an hour as the Coach searched for a way to liven up a sluggish Barca performance. But it was Malaga the more lively side, Roberto Rosales firing a shot past the post.
The arrival of Luis Alberto also gave Malaga a jolt and the on-loan Liverpool midfielder drew a booking for debutant Douglas after stealing the ball 20 yards from the Barca goal. Alberto caused further trouble with the resulting free kick, curling towards Bravo’s near post and forcing the goalkeeper to push the ball onto the post.
A Barca break inside the final 10 minutes was foiled when Sandro pulled the ball back to the closely-guarded Messi, and he in turn had little choice but to lay-off to Rakitic, who had a shot easily blocked.
Tempers flared late on when Weligton and Messi squared up to each other, the former booked for grabbing Messi by the face, with the Argentine going down in a heap. The Malaga defender was perhaps lucky not to see red, while Gerard Pique was also booked for his part in the aftermath.
Barca at least maintained their unbeaten record and have still yet to concede a goal this season, while Malaga’s streak of not conceding at La Rosaleda also continues. On this evidence it might last a while.
Malaga 0-0 Barcelona
Malaga: Kameni; Rosales, Sanchez, Weligton, Torres; Camacho, Darder; Castillejo (Juanmi 77), Duda (Luis Alberto 67), Juanpi (Recio 85); Amrabat
Barcelona: Bravo; Douglas (Adriano 73), Pique, Bartra, Alba; Busquets, Rakitic, Iniesta; Pedro (Sandro 64), Messi, Neymar (Munir 64)
Referee: Alejandro Jose Hernandez Hernandez
