FC Barcelona 2-0 Almería: This one's for you, Gerard

Today may have been all about Gerard Piqué, but what the man himself surely wanted more than anything in his last ever appearance at Spotify Camp Nou was a win.

And he got just that. Almería did their very best to ruin the party by almost miraculously keeping the Catalans at bay for 48 minutes, but logic eventually prevailed as Barça marched to the top of table, at least for now, on the back of a 2-0 win.

Piqué started the game, and on a couple of occasions even had chances to top off his day with a headed goal, and departed the pitch in tears in the 82nd minute to the sound of the kind of raucous ovation only reserved for absolute legends like himself.

Andalusian wall

Just how Almería were still level at the break defied all logic. They barely left their own half as Barça utterly, utterly dominated and created chance after chance after chance.

In the first 45 minutes, Barça had 16 shots on goal, but somehow or other the packed Andalusian defence and their outstanding goalkeeper Fernando Martínez, who made seven saves in the first half alone, managed to keep the ball from going in.

Not even when the home side were awarded a penalty would the 0-0 scoreline budge. Piqué turned down the crowd’s request for him to take it and pointed at Robert Lewandowski instead... But the Pole tried something clever that didn’t work out the way he’d hoped.

Time and again the crowd was already on its feet ready to celebrate, only to be denied the pleasure. Not even when a move involving Ferran Torres and Ousmane Dembélé looked certain to end in a goal did they get what they wanted.

Dembélé at last

Bizarrely, the best chance of the half fell to Almería. Largie Ramazani pounced on a stray ball in the Barça midfield and would have scored had Ter Stegen not pulled off a marvellous save.

Surely Almería’s luck couldn’t last another 45 minutes?

No, it couldn’t! The game was barely back under way before Dembélé collected the ball out on the right and weaved his way through red-and-white shirts before picking his spot with the tidiest of finishes.

All over… for Piqué too

Pure gold and at long last Barça were where they deserved to be. Ahead.

Dembélé would have two great chances to score a second but Fernando saved them both. But the second of those bounced straight into the path of Frenkie de Jong. The Dutchman slammed home with ease and that was 2-0.

The outcome now certain, the remainder of the game had little story other than the face that the Spotify Camp Nou was witnessing the last few minutes of Gerard Piqué. He was cheered every time he touched the ball and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house when he finally departed.

The final whistle blew, but the crowd was going nowhere. There was a post-match tribute still to come...