Barcelona 0-0 Málaga: match report and goals, LaLiga week 12

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Welcome to live minute-by-minute coverage of the LaLiga Week 12 game between Barcelona and Malaga at Camp Nou. Kick-off: Saturday 19 November 2016, 16:15 CET.

Barcelona 0-0 Málaga: FT report

A Messi-less Barcelona struggled to break down a disciplined and well-organized Málaga side as the hosts failed to convert a numbe red and might feel a little aggrieved not to have won at least one penalty in the second half. 

Málaga were reduced to 10 men on 69 minutes for a rash challenge by Diego Llorente on a surging Neymar but for the final 20 minutes, Barcelona were continually repelled by Carlos Kameni between Málaga's posts.

Arda Turan was aghast that he was penalised when Fran Ricca barged into him in the penalty area before Pique was also refused a penalty when Villanueva looked to have pulled him down on route to the ball.

Neymar possibly had the best chance of the game at the death but Kameni, who else, was on hand to turn his effort behind the post. 

Juankar was sent off in the dying seconds for abusing the referee but Málaga held on for a precious point.

Barcelona 0-0 Málaga: Second half

Ricardo De Burgos blows the final whistle as we approach 100 minutes of action. What a game that was!

Min 90+7 | Juankar sent off with a straight red for seemingly mouthing off at the ref.

Min 90+6 | One last chance for Barcelona as there are a host of shots blocked before the ball is cleared. Referee taking a huge liberty here by letting play continue.

Min 90+4 | Kameni with the save that could earn Malaga the draw! What a save it was too from Neymar. He comes to collect again but he fumbles it and Mascherano drives the ball over.

Min 90+3 | Kameni limps off his line andd collects an Arda Turan through ball.

Min 90+1 | Four minutes added on as Barcelona continue to push forward. 

Min 90 | As we run out of normal time, Kameni - arguably the man of the match - is down with a thigh injury.

Min 88 | Kameni colletcs again. He kicks the ball out to allow his teammate, Juankar, recover but Barcelona don't give it back to him! they are running out of time and they know it.

Min 87 | No sign of letting up yet. Rakitic cross is put out for a corner. 

Min 85 | Pique is taken down in the penalty area but, yet again, the ref says no! Villanueva was lucky there.

Min 83 | The ball is in the back of the net through Pique but there was an offside just earlier. What a finish we have on our hands.

Min 82 | Andre Gomes controls the ball with his chest and turns and shoots but his volley is blocked.

Min 82 | Rakitic risest highest and gets his head to a corner, but it goes just inches wide.

Substitution Málaga - Sandro is taken off to a round of applause. Replaced by Youssef En-Neysri.

Min 80 | Pique, operating as a striker at this point, headers over the bar.

Min 79 | Kameni comes out and gets a hand to a high ball, while being clattered by Pique. 

Min 77 | Neymar hits it straight over the bar.

Min 77 | Fornals with another foul on Neymar, as the Brazilian eyes up the shot from a tricky angle.

Substitution Barcelona - Rafinha makes way for Ivan Rakitic.

Min 76 | Neymar takes the ball down expertly before Rosales nudges him in the back and concedes a free.

Min 73 | Neymar makes his way down the end line before being dispossessed. Meanwhile, Paco Alcacer gets a rare touch but is ruled out for offside shortly after.

Min 71 | Header flies over the bar from Rafinha. The Camp Nou getting louder by the second!

Substitution Malaga - Ontiveros is replaces by Luis Munoz.

Minute 68 | RED CARD! Diego Llorente hacks Neymar and Ricardo De Burgos does not hesitate with his decision.

Substitution Barcelona - Andre Gomes comes on in place of Denis Suarez.

Min 66 | This game is opening up now, which suits Barcelona, but Málaga have to be careful not to get sucked into a shoot-out.

Min 63 | Llorente and Pique at it again as the pair fight in the penalty area. Pique gets the header away but Kameni can not be beaten. Ref gives a free out anyway!

Substitution Barcelona - Jordi Alba replaces Lucas Digne.

Min 60 | Diego Llorente's arm finds itself up around Pique's neck but the referee doesn'r want to know about it as the Barcelona defender looks for a penalty...and he is not happy about it!

Min 59 | Some action from Barca's bench as Jordi Alba gets ready to come. On the field, meanwhile, Rafinha has a shot that is deflected out for a corner.

Min 57 | Juankar beats Ter Stegen but in the process takes the ball too wide. He can't squeeze it goalward as his shot hits the side netting. The best chance of the game!

Min 55 | Arda Turan upset as he is taken down after headering the ball in the penalty area and the referee gives a free out! The ref has had a nightmare there.

Min 53 | A Neymar header finds its way straight into Kameni's breakbasket. 

Min 50 | Rosales with a speculative effort as he drives over from distance.

Min 48 | Second half starting much like the first half - all Barcelona as Mascherano headers over from a corner.

Min 47 | Villanueva steals the ball of the tip of Neymar's foot as he prepared to shoot.

Min 46 | We are underway for the second half 

News of Lionel Messi's illness and subsequent withdrawal from Barcelona's squad has proven just as important as we thought it might. Barcelona are hogging the ball and have tested Kameni once or twice but have failed to prove incisive at the end of some excellent moves. Málaga's only threat has been on the odd occasion that the visitors have broken out of their  own half. He tested Ter Stegen with Málaga's only effort.

Barcelona's best chance fell to Rafinha who caught Kameni on the backfoot but the 32-year-old recovered well to get down and get a strong right hand to deny the home side from taking the lead. Luis Enrique might have to call on some of the younger players in his squad as Alcacer has failed to impress, yet again, in the Barcelona shirt. 

First half

Min 45 + 1 | Barcelona hogging the ball with 82% but with just three shots on target to Málaga's one, it is far closer than it should be.

Min 44 | Digne cuts in from the left, plays it to Busquets but he drives it over Kameni's crossbar.

Min 41 | Neymar walking a little gingerly after losing the ball and make an excellent effort to win it back. He looks to be fine though.

Min 39 | Barcelona running out of ideas, it seems. Struggling to create meaningful chances in the absence of Suarez and Messi.

Min 37 | Juankar with a lovely run up the field before an attempted nutmeg on Pique undoes all his hard work as the Barcelona defender traps the ball between his legs and win possession back for his side.

Min 34 | After a slight emeregence of hope by Málaga, they have reverted back to their defensive setup and continue to invite Barcelona onto them.

Min 31 | Rafinha with a rifle of a shot but Kameni gets down to turn it away. Great save.

Min 30 | Busquets with a perfect pass over the top to Turan but the Turkish midfielder is offside.

Min 28 | Barcelona with a corner that Pique meets but it falls kindly to Kameni.

Min 26 | Sandro lurking again as an errant pass falls into his path. Pique with a last gasp tackle to avert the danger.

Min 23 | Sandro with a look at goal before Pique catches up with him. He gets a shot away that forces a save from Ter Stegen but it will take more than that effort to beat the German.

Min 22 | Ricca catches Arda Turan with an elbow as the pair raise to meet the ball. 

Min 21 | Arda feeds Rafinha, who fires over the bar! Another chance for Barcelona as Málaga continue to play with fire.

Good news for Barcelona fans is that Pique has looked comofrtable on his return. Unlucky not to have a goal already.

Min 18 | A Neymar pass finds its way to Arda on the right-hand side but his left-footed shot is weak and cleared again.

Min 16 | Denis Suarez pulls the ball back to a waiting Neymar but Málaga clear the danger again. 

Min 16 | Malaga with a brief respite as Juankar is fouled by Arda Turan and they take their time over the free-kick before launching it straight into Ter Stegen's area and he collects with ease.

It's early days but Málaga can't get the ball out of their own half. Sandro looking a lonely and frustrated figure already with just 15 minutes played. 

Min 13 | Pique headers it down to Mascherano, who sidefoots it off the post. He was offside though and Málaga live to fight again.

Min 12 | The ball falls to Pique in the box but his side-footed shot is saved by Kameni and out for a corner.

Min 10 | Denis Suarez skips past a challenge and pulls the ball back but the danger is averted by Málaga.

Min 9 | Neymar finds himself in behind Málaga's backline but his shot hits the side netting. 

Min 7 | Sandro gets a little bit excited with his first sight at goal as he shoots from an impossible angle after a good break by Málaga. It doesn't even trouble Ter Stegen.

Min 5 | Barcelona settling into the game early and have had most of the possession. Málaga sitting very deep. 

Min 3 | Alcacer has the ball in the back of the net but the pass over the top from Mascherano was a second too slow and the former Valencia striker is ruled offside.

Min 1 | We are underway at the Camp Nou as Ricardo de Burgos blows his whistle to begin the action! 

Barcelona vs. Malaga team line-ups

Barcelona vs Malaga: Latest news

15:53 | Barcelona currently on a four-game winning streak with their last defeat coming against Iaso Aspas and Celta Vigo at Balaidos.

15:45 | Málaga have won just twice in 15 visits to the Camp Nou but are also experiencing their best run of the season with three wins in five and just one defeat, at the hands of Atletico Madrid, in that spell.

15:40 | Luis Enrique has his say on Paco Alcacer's lack of goals, ""This is a great chance for Paco Alcácer, and he’ll be starting tomorrow. But his aim is not just to score goals, but to help the team to win, and I’m sure he’ll have a great game."

15:36 | Marlos and Alena on the bench today for Barcelona. Alena a youth product of the club.

14:52 | Messi is out of today's game against Malaga with an illness.

13:54 | Talking of Gerard Pique (see 12:47), Pep Guardiola said yesterday that he wouldn't hesitate in voting for the Catalan as Barcelona's president in the future!  

13:19 | Don't forget you can catch all the build-up, latest news and live coverage of the other big game in LaLiga today, the Madrid Derby, with us right here. 

12:47 | The early team news for Barcelona is that Piqué, Alba and Aleix Vidal are back in the squad for Malaga's visit to Camp Nou, but there are still some notable absentees. 

11:55 | After rumours to the contrary, at that Ratuken press conference Barça president Bartomeu said he was "convinced" that Lionel Messi will finish his career at the club. Story here.

11:05 | ICYMI: Barcelona announced a new sponsorship deal with Japanese giant Rakuten this week: one of the biggest kit contracts ever. 

10:20 | To get you in the mood for this weekend's feast of football, take a look at out LaLiga week 12 predictions (we already got off to a bad start after Friday night's game, but hey, nine left for us to redeem ourselves).

09:30 | Good morning sports fans! Stay with us here all day as we bring you all the latest news and buildup ahead of the Barcelona vs Malaga match, which we'll also be covering live right here. 

Barcelona vs Malaga: Match preview

Barcelona

Barça are back at Camp Nou after the international break in search of a win and, with the help of Atlético later on Saturday evening, a chance to return to the top of LaLiga ahead of Real Madrid.  Luis Enrique’s side, who are currently a bit away from the level they’ve shown in previous seasons, have been performing better on the road this campaign, and will want to alter that trend on Saturday afternoon at Camp Nou. In 11 LaLiga matches played so far, Barça have lost one and drawn one at home, and just the one defeat away, where they’ve also scored 6 more goals.

Having been hit by the FIFA virus in the past following international breaks, its more positive news for Enrique this week, with no new apparent injuries and the return to training of Piqué, Mathieu and Jordi Alba, all have whom could make the squad.

Player to watch: Messi. When is he ever not the player to watch? He returns to Camp Nou after an incredible performance for Argentina in the win over Colombia earlier this week.

Málaga

Malaga will need a result in Catalonia to keep pace with their European ambitions. The team from Andalusia visit Camp Nou 10th in LaLiga occupying the last Europa League spot and six points away from the Champions League places.

A win in Barcelona would put them in a much stronger position and, in dreaming of such a victory, they can take inspiration from their 0-1 triumph at Camp Nou in 2015. However, Malaga have been poor on the road this season, failing to win a single game away from La Rosaleda and drawing just twice.

Málaga coach, Juande Ramos, will also be unable to count on one of his star players, Ignacio Camacho. The centre-midfielder is serving a one-match suspension after receiving his fifth yellow of the campaign against Sporting. Giving the squad yet more of an uphill battle are the injuries to Weligton, Recio, Kuzmanovic, Keko and Charles, as well as the doubtful Chory, who could all miss the game.

Player to watch: Sandro. The ex-Barça striker is returning to Camp Nou for the first time with a point to prove.

Barcelona vs Malaga: Live buildup