Barcelona recorded a 2-0 win over Almeria in Gerard Pique's final home appearance for the Catalan giants on Saturday night.

Pique announced on Thursday that he would be leaving Barcelona and retiring from football next week, and the 35-year-old sported the captain's armband at Camp Nou.

The result has seen Barcelona return to the top of the La Liga table, two points ahead of the champions Real Madrid, who are in action on Monday night against Rayo Vallecano.

Robert Lewandowski missed a seventh-minute penalty for the home side after a Kaiky handball, and it ultimately proved to be a frustrating first 45 minutes for Xavi's team.

Ousmane Dembele broke the deadlock early in the second half, though, with the Frenchman finding the bottom corner after being released by Sergio Busquets.

Barcelona then scored their second of the match in the 62nd minute, with Frenkie de Jong converting from close range after Ansu Fati had seen his initial effort kept out by Fernando Martinez.

Fati thought that he had made it 3-0 in the 70th minute, but the Spain international's effort was chalked off for offside.

An emotional Pique went off to a standing ovation in the 85th minute of the contest, with the experienced defender bidding farewell to Camp Nou, but he is expected to be involved in next week's clash with Osasuna, which will be the team's final game ahead of the break for the World Cup. body check tags ::