Barcelona travelled to Vitoria-Gasteiz to clash heads with Alaves earlier tonight looking to get a win on the night. The Catalans completely dominated the first half but couldn’t find the finishing touch in front of the Alaves goal.
The visitors kept the pressure on in the second half and finally made the breakthrough in the 54th minute via Carlos Aleñá’s goal. Luis Suarez made the points secure for his team just six minutes later when he scored from the penalty spot. The match ended with the final scoreline of 2-0 in favour of the Catalans.
Let’s take a look at how each Barca player fared during the match against Alaves.
GK: Marc-André ter Stegen – 6.5/10
The German keeper distributed the ball well and kept an essential clean sheet on the night.
RB: Nelson Cabral Semedo – 6.5/10
He was a good outlet for Barca down the right wing and did his defensive job inside his own half.
CB: Gerard Piqué – 7/10
The Spanish centre-back made a couple of decent blocks to restrict the home team from scoring on his way to keeping comfortable shut-out at the back.
CB: Samuel Umtiti – 6.5/10
The French defender supported his centre-half partner well and put in a solid display during the game.
LB: Sergi Roberto – 7.5/10
The Barca full-back managed to keep a clean sheet and even got an assist to show for his efforts.
CM: Arturo Vidal – 7.5/10
The Chilean midfield veteran was guilty of squandering two excellent chances, but he was a constant threat to the Alaves defenders in the opposition half.
CM: Sergio Busquets – 7/10
The Spanish talent retained possession quite effectively in midfield and was successful in managing to establish Barca’s dominance at the centre of the park.
CM: Carlos Aleñá – 8.5/10
The Spanish youngster finally managed to make the all-important breakthrough in the 54th minute when he scored with his left-footed attempt. Ernesto Valverde’s faith in him was justified as the 21-year-old midfielder put in a man of the match display tonight.
RM: Ousmane Dembélé – 7/10
The French talent struggled to get a shot on target in the first half. However, his pace kept the Alaves defenders occupied throughout the match.
ST: Luis Suárez – 8/10
The Uruguayan striker had a great chance to score early in the first half, but the Alaves keeper saved his attempt. He kept pushing and working hard in the attacking third of the pitch. Suarez finally got his name on the scoresheet after he successfully converted a penalty at the hour mark.
LM: Philippe Coutinho – 7/10
The Brazilian playmaker had to endure a difficult first half as most of his efforts were defended well by the Alaves backline. To his credit, he was a constant threat for the home team down the left flank.
Substitutes:
RM: Lionel Messi – 6.5/10
The Argentine superstar got a chance to score in injury-time, but his effort failed to trouble the Alaves shot-stopper.
LB: Jordi Alba – 6/10
The Spanish speedster was very average after coming off the bench.
CM: Arthur Melo – N/A
Not enough time to make an impact.
