FC Barcelona enjoyed a 2-0 win over Almeria on Saturday but the night belonged to defender Gerard Pique’s who was playing his last game at the Camp Nou after he announced he will retire from football when La Liga breaks for the World Cup next week.
Barca, who won with second-half goals from Ousmane Dembele and Frenkie de Jong, climbed to the top of the standings on 34 points from 13 games, two ahead of Real Madrid who have a game in hand and will visit Rayo Vallecano on Monday.
After missing several chances in the first half, including a penalty for a handball that Robert Lewandowski put wide, Dembele broke the deadlock right after the break, slotting a precise shot into the bottom corner from a counter-attack.
In the 62nd minute, De Jong was well positioned inside the area to score off a rebound from goalkeeper Fernando Martinez and wrap up the points for Barcelona.
At a sold-out Camp Nou where everything surrounding the game was about the long-serving Pique, including the Barca players’ shirts which carried the word “Sempr3”, “Forever” in Catalonian, with Pique’s number 3 replacing the letter E.
The 35-year-old Pique, who started the game as captain, won 30 trophies, including three Champions League and eight La Liga titles, with Barca.
He played well and almost scored in the first half with two towering headers from corners against a defensive Almeria side who only had one shot on target in the match.
Pique was substituted in the 83rd minute, walking off the pitch in tears to a standing ovation from the 92,605 fans — the highest attendance at the Camp Nou so far this season — who packed the stadium to say goodbye to a club great.
Ten-man Espanyol battled to a 1-1 draw at Atletico Madrid on Sunday, another disappointing result for Diego Simeone’s team days after they were eliminated from European competition.
Atletico have won only one of their last six games in all competitions.
Danilo scores PSG winner
Paris: Danilo’s late header helped unbeaten Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain beat a lively Lorient side 2-1 at the Stade du Moustoir on Sunday, after Terem Moffi’s brilliant second-half goal had cancelled out Neymar’s early opener for the visitors.
PSG, without Lionel Messi due to an Achilles injury, took the lead in the ninth minute when Neymar seized on a poor clearance from Yvon Mvogo before taking the ball around the goalkeeper and slotting home his 11th league goal of the season.
Lorient’s top-scorer Moffi scored the equaliser nine minutes into the second half after being set up by Enzo Le Fee’s through ball, rifling his shot over PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma for his ninth league goal of the season.
PSG, with 38 points from 14 games, restored their five-point cushion over second-placed Lens while Lorient remained fourth.
Reuters
