While You Were Asleep: Barcelona suffer a shock defeat, Eddie Howe believes his Newcastle has a long way to go, AC Milan defeat Atalanta

LaLiga league leaders Barcelona suffered a 1-0 shock defeat against mid-table side Almeria at the Estadio Mediterraneo in Almeria on Sunday.
Courtesy of El Bilal Toure’s goal mid-way through the first half the hosts got the lead and ground out a famous result. Barcelona on the other hand missed a golden opportunity to extend their lead at the top of the points table.

Full Time #AlmeríaBarça pic.twitter.com/mHzdebhVOH
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 26, 2023
“I’m very angry because I think we made the worst game of the season far, mainly in the first half,” Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez told Movar Plus.
“We were not good and wasted a great opportunity in a match we could not afford to lose after what happened to Real Madrid.
“It was a golden opportunity today and it ended with a really bad day for us. No excuses, it was the worst showing of our side in the entire season.”
Manchester United beat Newcastle in the Carabao cup final
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said his side still has a long way to go after their 2-0 Carabao cup final defeat to Manchester United on Sunday.
“It is a process, we want to be here on a regular basis. There is a long way to go to be the team we want to be,” Howe told reporters after a disappointing return to Wembley.

“We can be proud of our performance but we were not clinical enough. As much as we didn’t want the final to be a draction it has been. The players gave everything.”
“It hurts immensely,” added Howe. “It feels like you have failed. A negative sea of emotions hit you but, with defeat, sometimes you can take positives.
“Nothing is guaranteed. I hope we are a different Newcastle, but the competition is very high so we have to improve. We can’t stand still and think we are something. We have to prove we are – and we have to go again.”
Defending champions Milan defeat top 4 aspirants Atalanta
Seria A defending champions AC Milan defeated Atlanta at San Siro in Milan on Sunday levelling them on points with their neighbours Inter Milan.
Juan Musso’s own goal opened the scoring for Milan and then late in the second half Junior Messias doubled the lead. Milan is now on 47 points. However, both the Milan clubs are 18 points behind league leaders Napoli.

A standout performance in midfield 💪#MilanAtalanta #SempreMilanBrought to you @BitMEX pic.twitter.com/F6ziU81LG5
— AC Milan (@acmilan) February 26, 2023
“We were (recently) always winning 1-0, but you can’t always hope not to concede goals,” coach Stefano Pioli, who oversaw his 800th career game as a manager, told DAZN.

“We should have closed it earlier, but it was a great performance the team. We played it with the energy that I recognise in my players.
“(But) It’s clear that we still need to score a lot of points to finish in the top four”.