Malaga became the first side to prevent Barcelona from winning in La Liga this season as they held the title chasers to a goalless draw on Wednesday night.

Very few clear chances were created by either side as the defenders came out on top in a tense encounter at La Rosaleda.

Below, Sports Mole decides which players stood out in the stalemate.

MALAGA

Goal

Carlos Kameni: Barcelona failed to register a shot on target as Malaga's defensive unit performed impressively, meaning Kameni was asked to do very little. (6/10)

Defence

Roberto Rosales: Caught out of position early in the match by Neymar, but improved as it progressed to keep out the visitors. (6/10)

Sergio Sanchez: The centre-back was arguably the best player on the pitch. Sanchez played a big role in keeping Lionel Messi quiet, and seemed to win every 50/50 ball. (8/10)

Weligton: The Brazilian was the perfect partner for Sanchez as he made a number of crucial interceptions, before nearly getting himself sent off for clashing with Messi late on. (7/10)

Miguel Torres: Refused to give any of Barcelona's players a yard of space, and offered a good option going forward as he gave Douglas problems with his excellent runs forward. (7/10)

Midfield

Sergi Darder: Stuck to his task superbly in the middle of the pitch as he joined Ignacio Camacho in preventing Ivan Rakitic and Andres Iniesta from making an impact. (8/10)

Ignacio Camacho: An all-round great midfield performance from Camacho, who rarely wasted possession and somehow manage to restrict Iniesta's influence with his pressing further up the pitch. (8/10)

Samu Castillejo: Not the easiest night for the teenager to display his ability, but was always willing to track back when Barcelona applied pressure. (6/10)

Duda: The experienced Portuguese midfielder was at the heart of most good moves for the home side, and deserved the great reception he received when he was taken off in the second half. (7/10)

Anor Juanpi: Tracked back brilliantly all night to help out the defence. Always a tricky customer in the final third of the pitch, too. (6/10)

Attack

Nordin Amrabat: Asked to play in a central attacking role by Javi Gracia, and did a great job for his manager. The Moroccan chased down every lost cause for his side in a tireless display. (8/10)

Substitutes

Luis Alberto: Lively going forward after replacing Duda, and almost secured the win with a free kick which struck the Barcelona post. (7/10)

Juanmi: Introduced late on as Malaga tired, and put in a good shift in the closing stages. (6/10)

Recio: The midfielder had very little time to impress, but stuck to his defensive task well. (6/10)

BARCELONA

Goal

Claudio Bravo: The Chilean did well to keep out Alberto's free kick, but had little else to do on a quiet night for the two goalkeepers. (6/10)

Defence

Douglas: Given his first start by Luis Enrique, and showed that he was capable of playing in a similar way to Dani Alves. However, he was often caught out of position before being replaced by Adriano in the second half. (6/10)

Marc Bartra: Performed pretty well on a rare start in central defence, but lacks the same passing ability Javier Mascherano has provided at the back in recent weeks. (6/10)

Gerard Pique: Struggled to track the clever runs from Amrabat, but did just enough to prevent his rival from enjoying too much success. (6/10)

Jordi Alba: Always a threat going forward. Delivered a number of inviting crosses, despite his side's lack of a cutting edge in the final third of the pitch. (6/10)

Midfield

Sergio Busquets: No surprise to see the Spaniard do his usual job of breaking up play efficiently, but he couldn't help his fellow midfielders have a bigger impact. (6/10)

Ivan Rakitic: The Croatian has been outstanding early in the season, but he was short of his best tonight. Camacho and Darder tracked his runs forward well, and he was unable to get involved further up the pitch. (6/10)

Andres Iniesta: Very similar to Rakitic. Much like his teammate, he kept the ball typically well. However, he couldn't link with Messi as much as he would have liked. (6/10)

Attack

Neymar: Poor performance from the Brazilian. We're used to seeing him trouble defenders with his quick feet, but was kept quiet by the Malaga defence. (5/10)

Lionel Messi: An uncharacteristically quiet night for the Argentine. Drifted around looking for space as he looked to make the vital contribution. However, Malaga were rarely forced to deal with Messi's magic. (5/10)

Pedro: Much like his fellow forwards, he was just unable to get involved often enough to make a difference. (5/10)

Substitutes

Munir El Haddadi: Asked to provide a different threat as Enrique changed things in the second half, but the youngster failed to produce a performance similar to the ones we've already seen from him this season. (5/10)

Sandro Ramirez: Introduced at the same time as Munir, and caused Malaga a few more problems with his direct approach. (6/10)

Adriano: Brought on in the closing stages as Douglas started to struggle, and was asked to do very little late on. (5/10)