With Barcelona emerging victorious emphatically against Alaves, they continue to establish themselves as La Liga’s most superior. The Catalans performed exceptionally well today with many key players making pivotal contributions. Here’s our Player Ratings for the game.
Inaki Pena: 6/10
Despite having kept a clean sheet, Pena had a mediocre showing. For a majority of his actions, he looked utterly uncertain and had a clear nervousness about him whenever he chose to came off his line.
Hector Fort: 7.5/10
Finally getting his well deserved start, Fort did not let Flick down. The 18 year old retained possession with sheer competence. Moreover, Fort was very impressive defensively as he was seen making recoveries on various occasions.
Inigo Martinez: 8/10
Once again, Inigo Martinez took charge of the entire Barcelona backline and bossed the game, especially in the second half. His performance was one which comprised of goal preventing blocks, smartly played offside traps, and precise distribution of the ball out of the back.
Pau Cubarsi: 7.5/10
Cubarsi was Barcelona’s primary ball distributor out of the back, a role where has shone bright on most occasions. Moreover despite being limited by his short stature, Cubarsi’s willpower enabled him to make a great deal of aerial recoveries to prevent Alaves from making threatening advances.
Alejandro Balde: 7.5/10
Despite not providing his usual presence in attack, Balde was absolutely crucial in silencing Carlos Vicente, who is Alaves’ most threatening offensive playmaker. Balde imposed himself defensively which can be proven by the fact that he won 5 out of his 6 grounded duels in the game.
Marc Casado: 7.5/10
Barcelona’s best possession retainer in midfield, Casado smartly circulated possession with immense precision. He also rushed out to win the loose balls whenever the Alaves keeper was forced to make rushed long balls due to Barca’s tightening pressure.
Pedri: 7/10
Pedri was not at his usual creative best. Being deployed in an advanced position after the substitution of Ferran, Pedri was stripped away from the ball which resultantly minimised his influence on the game. Nevertheless, he played a crucial role in pressing the Alaves backline.
Ferran Torres: N/A
An unfortunate injury saw Ferran making an early exit from the game.
Raphinha: 9/10
Raphinha was by far Barcelona’s best playmaker tonight as he completed 5 key passes in the game, 2 of which resulted in assists. His first assist was a perfect free kick cross onto the head of Lewandowski who was in a free space inches away from the goal. Raphinha’s 2nd assist was him running from his own box to the opposing box on the counter and cutting it across for Lewandowski who was able to tap the ball into an open net.
Lamine Yamal: 7/10
One of his quieter performances as he did not receive the ball as much, yet Yamal still showed glimpses of magic as he took on multiple defenders while carrying the ball. His influence in the counter press was still apparent as he often intercepted some of Alaves’ wayward passes.
Robert Lewandowski: 10/10
Hansi Flick has brought Lewandowski back to his absolute peak goalscoring prowess. Today’s performance encapsulated the Polish International’s abilities that make him a serial goalscorer. Whenever any Barcelona player had the ball with space around him, Lewandowski would make a piercing run into the box, something he was never seen doing frequently in past seasons.
Therefore, it was only inevitable that his talented teammates started to find him looming in the box and Lewandowski did not spare the Alaves defense for a moment as he finished all of his chances off with precision and was super close to scoring a 4th.
Substitutes
Eric Garcia: 7.5/10
Assisted Lewandowski’s hat trick goal with a piercing through ball, Garcia was solid in his distribution of the ball. However as a defensive midfielder, he did not provide sufficient support to the backline especially in the 2nd half where Alaves’ counter attacks were abundant.
Ansu Fati: 7.5/10
Jules Kounde: 7/10
Frenkie De Jong: N/A
Gerard Martin: N/A
