Almeria 1-0 Barcelona: Blaugrana blow chance to go 10 points clear of Madrid
Xavi's side suffered just a second defeat in LaLiga this season
Barcelona fell to just their second LaLiga defeat of the season as they lost 1-0 to Almeria on Sunday to miss the chance to go 10 points clear of Real Madrid.
Madrid had been held to a 1-1 draw by Atletico on Saturday, but El Bilal Toure's first-half goal ended Barca's 13-game unbeaten streak in the league and saw the gap at the top cut to seven points.
Toure struck in the 24th minute, firing in off the underside of the crossbar after a one-two with Luis Suarez.
After being knocked out of the Europa League by Manchester United on Thursday, Barca made four changes to their side but never got going at the Power Horse Stadium.
Almeria could have been 2-0 up after Toure's opener but Marc-Andre ter Stegen tipped Leo Baptistao's effort, which was creeping in, wide.
Xavi later called Barca's first-half performance the "worst of the season" and the biggest "disappointment" of the campaign, but even an improved second half was not good enough.
Barça ended with just one shot on target, from substitute Angel Alarcon, as they struggled to cut through the home side without the injured Ousmane Dembele and Pedri.
There was further frustration for the Blaugrana as bookings for Gavi, Xavi and Raphinha mean they will all be suspended for Valencia's visit to Camp Nou next weekend.
Adri Embarba missed a late one-on-one to double Almeria's lead but they held on without many major scares to climb out of the bottom three after three successive defeats in LaLiga.
It represented a first-ever win over Barça for the Andalusians, while Xavi must now lift his players for Thursday's trip to Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey semifinal first leg.
