FC Barcelona v Albacete: Beaten in the rain (1-2)

Barça B are winless in six games after going down at the Miniestadi to Albacete in the pouring rain. Gumbau raised hope by putting the reserves ahead in the first half, but late strikes from Keko and Samu turned things around.

Gumbau breaks deadlock

Barça B really need to get back to their winning ways, and went for it right from the start with Sandro coming close after just 45 minutes. Five minutes later, Samper set up Adama to hit the crossbar just before Sandro sent a free kick just over. No goals, but so far so good.

Then on the quarter hour, Adama broke free down the right, beat two defenders and laid up Gumbau to score his second goal of the season. 1-0 to Barça.

No luck

Some dazzling footwork from Halilovic and dangerous runs by Adama created further threats to Albacete, but some careless mistakes in midfield allowed the visitors to get five shots on target before the half was out, bringing out the best in Barça stopper Ortolá.

The rain came down stronger and stronger in the second half, but that didn’t dampen either side’s spirits. Dongou and Adama got the best chances for the Catalans, but the former missed the target and the latter saw his shot saved.

Albacete bounce back

Ortolá was called upon to produce a fantastic save as the game moved towards its conclusion. It was end-to-end football, but in the 82nd minute Ortolá was caught out when the ball got stuck in one of the ever-expanding puddles, and Koke jumped at the chance to level the match. Barely before Barça had had time to react, Albacete won a battle in the area that would have looked more at home in a water polo match, with Samu grabbing his team’s second to stun Barça B in a game that, just moments earlier, had looked head for a home win.