Barcelona travelled to Alava with one target in mind: Adding three more points to their La Liga tally. After what can only be described as an ugly, hard-fought match, Ernesto Valverde’s men accomplished their mission thanks to a couple of examples of confident finishing from Lionel Messi — who would have completed a hat-trick had he seen his penalty saved during the first half.
Having secured six out of a possible six points so far, the current under-construction team continues their journey unbeaten and, slowly but surely, regaining the confidence they were clearly missing after their disappointing performances against Real Madrid in the Spanish Supercopa.
We will analyse the match in more depth in the next episode of The Barcelona Podcast, published every Monday and Thursday.
Match Stats:
Francesc’s player ratings
Ter Stegen – 8
Vidal – 6
Umtiti – 8
Pique – 6
Alba – 6
Busquets – 6
Rakitic – 6
Sergi Roberto – 7
Iniesta – 7
Messi – 8
Deulofeu – 5
Subs:
Alcacer – 6
Denis – 7
Paulinho – 6
Want more Barca? Listen to Episode 27 of The Barcelona Podcast: Dembele, Coutinho, Seri, Di Maria, Samper, Rafinha, Gomes, Juventus… Check it out here:
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‘The Barcelona Podcast’ is brought to you by Francesc Tomas (as seen in ESPN, The Guardian) and Dan Hilton (Barcablog). Listen in for our opinionated take on the hottest breaking stories from the Camp Nou!
