Barcelona secured an unconvincing 3-2 home victory against bottom-of-the-table Almeria, bringing a close to 2023 with a win that propelled them to third place in La Liga. Under the management of Xavi Hernandez, Barcelona claimed the victory with a double from Sergi Roberto and a first-half goal by Raphinha. Despite goals from Leo Baptistao and Edgar Gonzalez that twice equalized the score for the 20th-placed Almeria, Barcelona ultimately held on to clinch the three points.

The first half saw numerous opportunities for both teams as Barcelona systematically sought to break down the visitors. An early set-piece nearly led to a goal when captain Sergi Roberto’s unmarked header was skillfully denied by goalkeeper Luis Maximiano. Almeria, in turn, had a chance when Ronald Araujo’s defensive lapse required Joao Cancelo to intervene and block Largie Ramazani’s attempt.

Raphinha opened the scoring in the 33rd minute after Almeria’s defensive lapse allowed Araujo’s header to be saved by Maximiano, only for Raphinha to capitalize on the rebound. Despite Barcelona’s lead, they faced an equalizer from Leo Baptistao just eight minutes later, exploiting a defensive error by Araujo.

Xavi made halftime changes, introducing Ferran Torres and Jules Kounde. Torres had an immediate impact, testing Maximiano with a powerful strike. Despite the injection of pace, Barcelona still appeared sluggish. A corner provided the breakthrough as Sergi Roberto met the ball at the near post, heading it over the goalkeeper to restore the lead in the 60th minute. However, a goalkeeping error by Inaki Pena gifted Edgar Gonzalez an opportunity to level the score once again.

Barcelona had a golden chance to seal the game, but both Lewandowski and Ilkay Gundogan failed to connect with their headers. Sergi Roberto, making only his fifth appearance of the season, secured the victory with a goal in the 83rd minute after receiving a lofted pass from Lewandowski.

In a topsy-turvy encounter, Barcelona stumbled over the line, with Pena redeeming himself with a crucial save in the final minutes. Meanwhile, Athletic Bilbao leveled on points with fourth-place Atletico Madrid after a 1-0 win against Las Palmas, and Celta Vigo, managed by Rafael Benitez, suffered a 3-2 defeat at Villarreal near the foot of the table.

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