Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas has admitted that Barcelona struggle to defend set pieces due to their lack of height.

The Catalan outfit conceded once more from a corner against Almeria on Sunday, but scored four goals of their own to pick up all the points at the Camp Nou.

"These were three vital points. We recovered our good feelings, closed the gap and played good football. It wasn't our best game, we started the game well and then there were doubts with the goal and we were more focused on defending than playing our style of football," he told reporters.

"It was one of those games where the opposition did very little to make things difficult for us. Which was my fault. We had to work really hard to man mark and they did so with ease. They do too much for what they really deserve.

"The years have passed and players like Yaya Toure, [Thierry] Henry or [Seydou] Keita have all left and every year we are lower in stature and this shows when you need to mark someone."

Barca are currently second in La Liga, one point behind Real Madrid.