On the day Barcelona celebrated its 126th anniversary, Raphinha returned to the azulgrana eleven, now fully recovered from injury, to contribute two assists in the victory over Alavés (3-1), who took an early lead, and give his team the lead in LaLiga, pending what Real Madrid does this Sunday at Motilivi.
Intense in the pressure, sharp in the breakaway and always precise in assisting his teammates, Raphinha’s presence changed, at times, the face of a team that had missed him too much in the last two months.
Barça reacts after a chaotic start
The match started in the worst possible way for Barça to clear their doubts after the tough defeat at Stamford Bridge (3-0).
Alavés took the lead in the first minute of play from a corner.
Casadó cleared the ball poorly, which fell to Ibáñez, who slotted the ball into the back of the net.
It was an unexpected start to the game that could have been even more dramatic if Cadebe had not crossed his shot too far down the left flank into the home side’s box.
The Catalan team woke up quickly, applied in the pressure thanks to the voracity of Raphinha, from whom Tenaglia saved a shot that was heading for goal.
Eric García, on the right wing, headed high in the next move, but Barça were already in the lead in possession, play and sensations.
Raphinha sets the course for the comeback
A combination between Balde and Raphinha on the left flank led to Lamine Yamal’s left-footed shot after receiving the ball from the Brazilian winger.
Flick’s decision to opt for a new double pivot with Casadó and Bernal after De Jong’s last-minute withdrawal for personal reasons did not work out.
But Dani Olmo, the starting playmaker in the absence of Fermín due to injury, scored the second before the hour mark when he finished off Raphinha’s assist at the near post.
This was a blow for Alavés, who in the previous play could have gone ahead again with a shot at the far post by Otto that Joan García miraculously saved in front of goal.
Barcelona continued to look too fragile in defense, but at least they increased their offensive production with a hyperactive Raphinha and a very incisive Lamine Yamal who seems to have definitively forgotten his nagging pubalgia.
Suffering before the break
The ’10’ could have scored the third on the stroke of half-time after a one-two with Lewandowski, but instead of shooting with his left foot, he hit the ball against the post with his right foot after dribbling past Sivera in search of the goal of the day.
In the added time, Alavés again threatened Joan García, once again on the left flank.
But Lucas Boyé’s shot went just wide of the goalkeeper’s right post.
Flick sat Bernal at half-time and brought on Rashford, while Pedri warmed up on the sidelines, chanted by the Spotify Camp Nou crowd, hoping to get his first minutes after being injured in the Clasico against Real Madrid.
Before handing over to Pedri for the last half hour of the game, Raphinha was able to score his third assist of the afternoon from a corner kick.
But Lewandowski’s header was met with a saving hand from Sivera.
Resist and sentence at the end
Coudet’s team, increasingly withdrawn at the back, no longer had the counter-attacking options they had enjoyed in the first half.
Barça continued to harass the visitors’ backline, although they were too imprecise in the final meters.
Lamine Yamal, Olmo and Casadó tried several shots, but the Alavés defense shielded Sivera’s goal.
In addition, the Victorian side still had time to put the fear into Barcelona’s body in the final minutes when they went all out for the equalizer.
With six minutes to go, Joan García won a one-on-one with the newly-entered Guridi that the referee eventually disallowed for offside.
On the last counter of the game, the Spotify Camp Nou finally breathed a sigh of relief when Olmo received a pass from Lamine Yamal and crossed the ball into the back of the net over Sivera to make it 3-1.
Technical data
3 – Barcelona: Joan García; Eric García (Koundé, min.45), Cubarsí (Christensen, min.84), Martín, Balde; Bernal (Rashford, min.45), Casadó; Lamine Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha (Pedri, min.60); and Lewandowski (Ferran Torres, min.60).
1 – Deportivo Alavés: Sivera; Otto, Tenaglia, Pacheco, Parada (Toni Martínez, min.80); Blanco; Calebe (Carlos Vicente, min.59), Suárez (Guevara, min.68), Ibáñez (Guridi, min.68), Rebbach (Aleñá, min.58); Lucas Boyé.
Goals: 0-1, minute 1: Pablo Ibáñez. 1-1, m.8: Lamine Yamal. 2-1, m.26: Dani Olmo. 3-1, m.93: Dani Olmo.
Referee: Miguel Ángel Ortiz (Madrid Committee). Yellow cards for Marc Bernal (min.36) for Barcelona and Abde Rebbach (min.32), Calebe (min.52) and Antonio Blanco (min.81) for Deportivo Alavés.
Incidents: Match of the 14th round of the EA Sports League played at the Spotify Camp Nou in front of 44,834 spectators.
With information from EFE
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