Sergi Roberto scored two second-half goals to lead the defending champions Barcelona to a 3-2 victory over struggling Almería in La Liga on Wednesday, following three matches without a win in all competitions before the Christmas break. Barcelona dominated the first half but wasted most of the 15 chances they had, five of which were on target, with the half ending in a 1-1 draw after Raphinha opened the scoring for Barcelona and Léo Baptistão equalized for Almería.
Raphinha's goal came in the 33rd minute when he took advantage of a rebound from close range, scoring after Almería goalkeeper Luis Maximiano saved a header from defender Ronald Araújo following a corner kick. However, the visiting team equalized just before the break thanks to Baptistão, whose initial goal was ruled offside by the referee but overturned after a VAR review.
Roberto put his team back in the lead 60 minutes into the match with a header from a corner kick, but Almería equalized again with a goal from Edgar González before Roberto netted the winning goal from close range. Barcelona rose to third place with 38 points from 18 matches, six points behind leaders Girona and four points behind second-placed Real Madrid, before facing Real Betis and Alavés on Thursday. Almería remains at the bottom of the table with five points and no wins in the league this season.
