Alaves 1-1 Barcelona: 5 talking points as Catalans are held by gutsy Basque side | La Liga 2020-21

#3 Alaves' resolute defense frustrates Barcelona

Alaves were no pushovers, showing tremendous resilience at the back against 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

Pacheco stepped up to the plate for Alaves, making numerous vital saves against Barcelona

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.

7 - Alaves’ Fernando Pacheco has made seven saves against Barcelona, becoming in the goalkeeper to do it the most times in a single LaLiga game this season. Wall. pic.twitter.com/ZxFhz19KyO

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) October 31, 2020

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

Barcelona skipper Messi had to endure another night of frustration

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.

Lionel Messi's game by numbers vs. Alaves:107 touches100% aerials won13 take-ons completed13 touches in opp. box10 shots5 shots on target4 chances created3 fouls wonSomeone help him out. 😅 pic.twitter.com/Y6ZRslNIZC

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) October 31, 2020

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.