Barcelona's fans who gathered in the stands bid farewell to their legend and defender Gerard Piqué, who decided to retire in the best possible way by winning against guest Almería 2-0, temporarily topping the La Liga table in the 13th round. This victory brought Barcelona's points total to 34, two points ahead of their traditional rival Real Madrid, who will visit Rayo Vallecano on Monday.
Piqué played his 616th match in Barcelona colors, making him the fifth player to have played the most matches for the Catalan team, while the record is held by Argentine superstar Lionel Messi, who currently plays for Paris Saint-Germain (778 matches). The 35-year-old captain was honored with the armband during his farewell match and was warmly welcomed by the team's supporters.
During his time at Barcelona, Piqué won every domestic title (league and cup), European titles (Champions League), and global titles (FIFA Club World Cup), and he also won the World Cup and the European Championship with the Spanish national team. The former international player left the pitch in the 84th minute to a standing ovation from the crowd, with tears streaming down his face, and was replaced by Danish player Andreas Christensen.
A penalty was awarded to Barcelona after a handball by Brazilian defender Kayky in the area; Polish striker Robert Lewandowski took the shot but hit the post (7). Lewandowski missed the last match against Czech team Viktoria Plzeň in the Champions League (4-2) as coach Xavi preferred to rest him after many matches.
Barcelona dominated the game with a possession rate of 78%, but despite that, Belgian Largie Ramazani broke through against German goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen, who skillfully saved his attempt (28).
Early in the second half, Barcelona opened the scoring when French winger Ousmane Dembélé received a long ball from Sergio Busquets, dribbled past defenders, and shot with his left foot into the net (48). Barcelona added a second goal when Jordi Alba passed to substitute Ansu Fati, who came on for Ferran Torres; Fati launched a powerful shot that was saved by goalkeeper Fernando Martínez but was tapped in by Dutch player Frenkie de Jong into the net (62).
