Barcelona climbed to the top of the La Liga table (albeit for a few hours) with an emphatic victory over Alaves on Saturday. And whilst the Catalans have played three games more than Real Madrid, this is sure to put the pressure on Zinedine Zidane’s men.
After a rather uneasy first 30 minutes, it was Luis Suarez, who began the proceedings for Barca in the 37th minute when he applied the finishing touches to an Aleix Vidal cross. Neymar doubled his side’s lead two minutes later when he capitalised on Alaves’ goalkeeper’s error and thereafter it was all Barcelona.
Lionel Messi, Ivan Rakitic and Luis Suarez scored one apiece in the 2nd half apart from Alexis knocking one into his own net inadvertently to set up a comprehensive victory for the visitors.
Here are the player ratings from the game on a scale of 10.
Alaves
Fernando Pacheco - 6
The Alaves goalkeeper had a rather solid game until he gifted Barcelona their 2nd goal in the 40th minute and was thereafter left frustrated as the Catalan giants showed their class and thumped another 4 goals past him.
Carlos Vigaray – 6
Vigaray dealt well with the threat of Neymar until the second goal. However, it was his lapse in concentration that allowed Messi to snatch the ball and score his side’s third goal. He could do very little about the remaining goals as Barca showcased their quality.
Alexis – 5
The centre-back had a poor outing as he failed to sight Suarez’s run for Barca’s first goal. He failed to deal with the threat that came his way and finished the night with an unfortunate own goal to his name as well.
Victor Laguardia – 7
The defender was dominant in the air through the game and won almost everything there was on offer aerially. However, given Barcelona’s quality, it was all but expected that he would be rendered ineffective for large durations of the game.
Theo Hernandez – 6
Hernandez missed a gilt-edged chance to give his side the opportunity to ahead in the first half when the game was still goalless. However, he proved to be a constant threat to Barcelona with his pace and it was unfortunate his game had to end in the horrific way it did when his challenge resulted in a horrific injury to Vidal.
Marcos Llorente – 6
The Real Madrid loanee was impressive during the opening stages of the game and kept his side in the game for large durations of the first half. However, once the game got into the second half, the player cut a frustrated figure and failed to deal with the Barca onslaught.
Daniel Torres – 6
The industrious midfielder did well to not afford the Barcelona attack time and space on the ball. His passing, though, was patchy and the midfielder failed to complement Llorente in the middle of the park.
Ruben Sobrino – 5
The Manchester City loanee was a willing runner for Alaves through the game and threatened on the counter-attack. However, with Vidal in fine form and very little support from his attacking colleagues, he was not very successful in his ventures.
Aleksander Katai – 6
To be fair to the player, he was sporadically good for the hosts throughout the game and looked threatening in patches. However, he faded after a bright start and struggled to stay relevant in the game.
Nenad Krsticic – 5
The Serbian midfielder was largely anonymous through the first half and was deservedly substituted during the break.
Christian Santos – 5
Santos was impressive through the first half as he linked up well with his attacking colleagues. However, he was guilty of missing a golden opportunity to pull one back for his side early in the first half and was thereafter rendered ineffective by the marauding Catalans.
Substitutes
Kiko Femenia – 6
The 26-year-old Spaniard replaced Krsticic at the break and proved to be a breath of fresh air as he looked lively going forward. However, he was subsequently restricted to defensive duties as Barcelona turned up in style.
Oscar Romero – 5
Replaced Katai in the 57th minute but failed to make any real impact on the game during his time on the pitch.
Raul Garcia – NA
Barcelona
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen - 7
The German shot-stopper had very little to do save but for one brilliant save he made in the first half to deny Hernandez while the game was still goalless. Always comfortable with the ball, Ter Stegen provided the necessary distribution from his position to keep the game ticking for the Catalan giants.
Aleix Vidal – 7
Vidal had been in fine form prior to this game and added further strength to his credentials as one of the best full-backs with yet another impressive performance. He supplied the cross for Suarez’s and Barcelona’s first goal of the evening and dealt with the threat of Alaves’ attack well. It was a shame that the former Sevilla man had to leave the field in the later stages of the game injured in a horrific manner. We hope him best of health and fast recovery.
Jeremy Mathieu – 6
The French centre-back had a few nervous moments through the game as the Alaves attack threatened sporadically. However, his distribution was good and he often stepped up to the midfield to help his side deal with the Alaves midfield.
Samuel Umtiti – 6
Umititi, Mathieu’s partner at the back, looked a bit uncomfortable at times. However, he grew into the game and with Alaves largely pegged to their own half for most of the game, the French defender had very little to deal with.
Lucas Digne – 7
Digne was beaten by Hernandez’s pace in the first half and would be largely thankfully to Ter Stegen for saving him the blushes. Apart from that, the player was decent and provided the requisite width to the Barcelona unit to dominate the proceedings through the game.
Sergio Busquets – 6
As has been the case so often, Busquets went about his duty nonchalantly yet affectively. Alaves tried their best to contain the deep lying midfielder but their efforts proved to be futile as Busquets largely dominated the proceedings in the middle of the park.
Andre Gomes – 7
The industrious Portuguese was an ever willing runner for the Catalan giants. He was brilliantly denied by Pacheco in the first half. Yet, he continued with his good work and showcased a brilliant passing range to unlock the Alaves defence time and again.
Ivan Rakitic – 7
Rakitic was key to Barcelona’s opening goal as he found Vidal with a good pass and the Croatian pass master linked up well with the Brazilian to threaten the Alaves defence time and again. His best moment of the game though came in the 65th minute when he scored a lovely goal.
Lionel Messi – 8
The Argentine magician found very little space to operate in during the early stages of the game. However, once Barca were settled into the game, there was no stopping Lionel Messi as he capitalised on a lapse in concentration from Vigaray in the 59th minute, He made Alaves pay yet again in the 63rd minute when his presence forced Alexis into knocking one into his own net.
Luis Suarez – 9
How do teams contain the Uruguayan attacker? Suarez had endured a tough evening until the 37th minute when he opened the scoring for the Catalan giants via a Vidal cross. Thereafter, he created two more goals, one for Neymar and the other, an own goal by Alexis before applying the finishing touches to the scoreline in the 67th minute.
Neymar – 7
The Brazilian looked out of the game for large durations of the first half, save for his side’s second goal. However, he did have a more meaningful second half as he kept the Alaves defence busy. His final delivery, though, was poor and the former Santos star will be keen to improve on that going forward.
Substitutes
Jordi Alba- 6
Came on to the pitch in the 66th minute for Samuel Umtiti and had very little to do.
Andres Iniesta- 6
The playmaker came on in the 64th minute for Sergio Busquets and continued to link up well with his colleagues.
Sergi Roberto – NA`
