'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Barcelona's early-season stumbles continued as they were forced a share of the spoils by Alaves in a 1-1 stalemate at the Mendizorroza on Saturday.
Antoine Griezmann opened his account for the season with a goal in the second half, canceling out Luis Rioja's opener off Neto's horrendous mistake. However, the Catalans couldn't find a way beyond the resolute Babazorros.
Alaves were reduced to 10 men just moments before the Frenchman's goal, with Jota sent off after picking up his second yellow card of the game for a foul on Gerard Pique.
The draw leaves Ronald Koeman's side languishing at 12th place in the La Liga table, eight points behind front-runners Real Madrid, albeit with a game in hand, and are now winless in four straight top-flight games.
Here are the major talking points from the match:
#1 Neto's howler gifts Alaves the lead
Barcelona's first-choice keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen has been out since the off-season after undergoing knee surgery in the summer. This paved the way for Neto to come in between the sticks.
The Brazil international initially proved to be an able deputy. He has pulled off some amazing saves in the current season, rescuing his side's beacon with crucial interventions. However, today was one of those days where he landed his side in hot water instead.
Neto, upon receiving a backpass from Pique, made a poor first touch under pressure from Rioja, who then snatched the ball from him and tapped it home into an empty net for the opener.
Alaves were served the goal on a platter, and even though the Catalans managed to pull one back after the break, this match could've ended in a victory for them if it wasn't for the 31-year-old's blunder.
#2 Barcelona benefit from numerical advantage, but partly
Alaves midfielder Jota was shown a red card in the 62nd minute for a second bookable offense, reducing the hosts to 10 men and giving Barcelona a numerical advantage.
The Blaugrana pounced on the opportunity almost immediately as Fati intercepted a loose ball and laid it off for Griezmann, who then ran into space behind the Alaves defense and neatly chipped it over Pacheco for the equalizer.
Until then, the winds were firmly in El Glorioso's sails but in a split second, Barcelona appeared to be on the front foot, and a comeback seemed likely.
They also had a good 30 minutes to pull it off. However, Koeman's mighty side were kept at arm's length with some wonderful defending by the Babazorros, which brings us to the next talking point...
#3 Alaves' resolute defense frustrates Barcelona
As the match wore on, Barcelona grew increasingly desperate and threw caution to the wind. They pushed bodies forward, deploying almost the entire team in the opposition half, and kept Alaves firmly on the back foot by unleashing an avalanche of attacks.
The Basque Country outfit stood firm in the face of the onslaught, organizing their defense well and leaving no gaps for the visitors to exploit.
Alaves, too, had the whole team back, with each player firmly marking someone to deny them a clear chance. And it worked, as Barcelona were forced to play long passes inside the area, which were easily dealt with by the defenders.
When none of that worked, the last pillar of the Alaves defense - goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco- came to deny them.
#4 Pacheco's heroics save the day for Alaves
The Alaves shot-stopper turned in one of his career-best performances to keep Barcelona at bay, making nine saves in total to rightfully clinch the Man-of-the-Match prize.
Even though his team was resilient when the visitors upped the ante, there were a few occasions where Pacheco's interventions were needed, and the Spaniard duly stepped up to the plate, stopping, punching and parrying one shot after another.
In one key moment, right after Griezmann's equalizer, he denied Messi with a sensational diving save after the Argentine somehow maneuvered his way inside the area and lashed a shot towards the far post.
The 28-year-old was quick to react and got the ball out of play in a phenomenal move. He then cleared Dest's effort from Messi's free-kick in the final minute of normal time.
Pacheco didn't get a clean sheet nor could he rescue a famous victory for his side, but his stupendous performance in the nets will surely have won him the admiration of even the mighty Barcelona.
#5 Messi's wait for open-play goal continues
Lionel Messi tried his best but struggled to find the back of the net once again. He was at the heart of everything good stemming from the visitors, though the one thing missing from his game was a goal. An open-play goal.
All the four goals that the Argentine has managed in the 2020-21 campaign so far have come from the penalty spot.
The reason for his inability to score from open play may be because he has to drop deep from time to time as the team still doesn't have a deep-lying playmaker. It could also be because the team now has a young but lethal finisher in Ansu Fati occupying a more advanced role.
Either way, the issue is really getting on the Barcelona captain's nerves. His frustrated expressions clearly show he's worried about it but he somehow just can't get the monkey off his back.
Messi is 33 now and might no longer be capable of scoring half a century of goals per season. However, his goalscoring ability remains as fine as ever, evident by his Golden Boot win last season. The goals are, therefore, likely to come eventually as he appears to simply be on a rough patch right now.
