Barcelona take three points before the national break, De Jong makes sure of a slim win at the end

In the last match of the 22nd round of the Spanish LaLiga, Deportivo Alavés welcomed a faltering FC Barcelona at the Estadio Mendizorrotza. Dutchman Frenkie de Jong finally decided the match with one goal, after a pass from new Blaugranas acquisition Ferran Torres.

Xavi’s squad needed to get in a good mood and get a result before the representative’s mouth. After all, Barca had won only once in the previous four games played, and that was in the Copa dle Rey at the ground of the quarter-league Linares.

Then came a league draw with Granada and losses to Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao in the Super Cup and Copa del Rey respectively. So the Camp Nou players had their motivation taken care of.

For Catalan supporters, the news of the recovery of youngster Pedri, who already in his first game, the aforementioned El Clásico Cup, looked as if he had not even taken a break, was, is and probably will continue to be great news. He also put in an excellent performance against Alavés and if it wasn’t for a goal from teammate De Jong would probably have earned the player of the match award.

Despite the rut, Xavi’s charges struggled to threaten the home goalkeeper’s shrine from the start of the game. This was reflected in the statistics of shooting attempts, but those that were directed between the three bars were indeed few.

The picture of the game was traditional for both teams, Deportivo defending hard and waiting for counterattacks after mistakes of the favourite. These, at least in the visitors’ play, were much more than one would expect and they often gave the ball to their opponents very cheaply.

After the missed chances, caused in part by the once again fabulous reflexes of goalkeeper Ten Stegen, Barca finally struck when Torres ran in behind the shrunken home defence and, after an arc from Jordi Alba, presented a golden opportunity to his teammate Frenkie De Jong, for whom this was only his second goal of the season.

Barcelona climbed to fifth place in the league table, one point behind fourth-placed Atlético Madrid. However, Xavi’s charges would need a consistent supply of points, an aspect that the Blaugranas coaching staff still needs to work on.

Sources