Barcelona 3 Deportivo Alavés 1: Yamal, Garcia, Raphinha and Pedri Impress as Barca Beat Alavés
This was it! This was the match! This was the match to restore hope to Culers that the team was turning into a new direction!
This was the match!
I am kidding, of course. This was simply another La Liga match after a difficult midweek for Barcelona, a match that the team needed to exorcise the demons from Stamford Bridge and cleanse their palate after an underwhelming visit to London.
And they did. Not spectacularly, just - professionally. As the youths of this day would say, 'The performance was mid.'
For starters, the match saw several changes in the lineup from midweek. Frenkie De Jong, suffering from a minor injury, was replaced by Marc Bernal, while Raphinha made his first start in a few weeks.
And Barca got off to the worst possible start when a floated corner inside the first minute escaped everyone and was fired home from close range by Pablo Ibáñez.
Not a great start.
However, Barcelona responded eight minutes later when Lamine Yamal hit a first-time strike to the roof of the net after some great teamwork and a good cross from Raphinha. That goal, BTW, was Yamal's first at the Camp Nou! He could have had a second when he rounded Alaves keeper, Sivera, after another great team buildup, but hooked his right-footed shot to the upright. Let's hope that this goal is one of many memorable ones he will score at the iconic stadium.
Through the half, though, Barcelona played with swagger and purpose. Bernal showed some positive signs. Gerrard Martin continued being a revelation in the centre back position, while Eric Garcia continued his impressive streak of performances out at right back.
But, really, the match belonged to Joan Garcia, Lamine Yamal, and later on, the returning Pedri, who came on in the 60th minute after a few weeks on the treatment deck.
The Yamal, Garcia, and Pedri Show
Lamine Yamal had that knife between his teeth that makes him unstoppable at times, and he ran the Alaves defense rugged with nifty touches, showing every bit of that edge of a player with something to prove. Indeed, after a difficult midweek in which he was well marshalled (sometimes unfairly so) by his fellow countryman, he wanted to show the world who is boss. Sure, it was just Alaves, but a good streak has to start somewhere, right?
Joan Garcia, meanwhile, continued to show why Barcelona pegged much of their limited resources on him this summer when he made a point-blank save in the 23rd minute to deny Castro from an Alavés chance created by the impressive Rebbach. If Alavés had scored that goal, the texture of the match would have changed entirely, and Barca would have had a long evening at home.
In fact, just two minutes later, Barcelona would score their second when Martin floated a brilliant pass into Raphinha, who squared it for Olmo to make it 2-1, so Garcia was a hero with that save. You know, sometimes superheroes don't come in spandex or conspicuous red capes. Sometimes they come decked in bright orange kits with an unassuming demeanor.
Then, after the two had their moments in the sparkling setting sun at the Camp Nou, on came Pedri to reclaim his rightful place as Barcelona's best player out there alongside Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Garcia.
As soon as he came on, he started running rings around the Alaves players, whether in midfield or with incisive runs into the penalty box with the ball glued to his feet. His presence was felt as soon as he made his first touch, and he did not fade until much later on in the game when the whole team just wanted the match to be over quickly, something that gave the defensively sound and technically impressive Alaves chance after chance.
Olmo had his usual anonymous game for Barcelona, but he did score the goal to put Barca 2-1 up in the 25th minute before assuring Barca of the victory with a third in added time from a Lamine Yamal pass. That third came at a good time, because it increasingly looked as though Alaves were inching that ever closer to the equalizer.
Overall, this wasn't a match that will send shivers down any Culer's spine. Still, it was a neat, professional performance, a morale booster ahead of welcoming fellow title contenders, Atlético de Madrid, to the Camp Nou for a third consecutive game at our renovated home. Let's hope the team can make it 3 out of 3 at home. Such a run would be a great platform on which to build a rich vein of form, wouldn't it?
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