(VIDEO) Barcelona goalkeeper Peña's absurd mistake should worry coach Xavi

Barcelona had a clear objective this Wednesday: to get a win at the Estadio Olimpico Luis Companys in Montjuic against Almeria and leave behind the negative streak of the last few weeks. They had failed to win the last two games in La Liga, as they lost against leaders Girona and drew against Valencia, and that, added to the defeats against Shakhtar Donestk and Royal Antwerp in the Champions League, had caused harsh criticism against the players and the coach.

That is why the match against Almeria was an ideal opportunity to turn the page. Their opponents are one of the weakest teams in the Spanish tournament (in fact they are in the relegation zone) and so Los Blaugranas were supposed to be able to make the difference and please the fans.

Although they succeeded, things were much more difficult than expected. After 33 minutes of the first half, Raphinha captured a rebound inside the box and scored the opener for the hosts, but surprisingly the visitors netted the equaliser moments later through Leo Baptistao. And after the break the same thing happened: Sergi Roberto, with a header, scored the 2-1, but then Edgar Gonzalez netted the leveller taking advantage of an incredible mistake by Iñaki Peña. The goalkeeper jumped to take the ball with his hands, but he couldn't control it and allowed the rival defender to score.

However, with less than 10 minutes to go Barcelona again took the lead thanks to Sergi Roberto, who received a pass inside the box and, when goalkeeper Luis Maximiano tried to intercept it, he shot smoothly between his legs to make it 3-2 and give them three important points in La Liga.

Xavi must be worried

Despite the win, the Barcelona coach must not be satisfied with his team's performance. They had to work too hard to beat Almeria, the weakest team in La Liga. And not only that. Iñaki Peña also made a serious mistake that almost cost them dearly. The goalkeeper is replacing Marc Andre Ter-Stegen, who is injured, and it is not certain that he will be able to recover in time to play the round of 16 matches in February.