Barcelona failed to win its first game in the post-Ronald Koeman era on Saturday. Memphis Depay helped the Catalans on their way against Deportivo Alavés with a fantastic goal, but that was compensated by a goal against three minutes later: 1-1. Barcelona does nothing with that and dangles in ninth place, while Alavés cherishes the point in sixteenth place.
Barça’s interim coach Sergi Barjuán decided to make two changes compared to Koeman’s last line-up against Rayo Vallecano (1-0 loss): Óscar Mingueza joined the squad as right back for Sergi Roberto, while Philippe Coutinho on the midfield had to make way for Gavi. In the front there was again room for Memphis Depay and Sergiño Dest, who occupied both flanks at Barcelona next to center striker Sergio Aguero.
???????????????? ??????????? ?? What a lovely curl from the Dutch attacker! Barca in the lead ????#ZiggoSport #LaLiga #BarcaAlaves pic.twitter.com/0fFxS32fhF
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) October 30, 2021
Barcelona were allowed to make the game and had no less than eighty percent possession in the first half, yet the Catalans only managed to make one decent attempt in the first 45 minutes. It came from the head of Eric García after a corner by Memphis Depay; goalkeeper Antonio Sivera cleverly tapped the ball out of the corner. Alavés also created danger with his head once in the first half: Édgar Méndez’s header from a free kick from the left ended up just wide.
On the stroke of half-time, Agüero suddenly sat down on the grass. The Argentinian, who has only just returned from a calf injury, appeared to have breathing problems and was replaced by Philippe Coutinho. Depay therefore came to play as center striker and immediately took advantage of it four minutes after the break. The the Dutch international received the ball on the edge of the penalty area, created some space for himself, and then curled the ball beautifully into the corner: 1-0.
It should have resulted in a liberation at Barcelona, but instead a goal had to be conceded three minutes later. Luis Rioja dribbled in from the left, setting up a one-two with Joselu to enter the penalty area. There, the attacker passed goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen, and then pushed the ball into the empty goal: 1-1. Barcelona then looked for the attack again and quickly created two chances for Depay. The Dutchman first shot the post from close range and was launched a few minutes later by a nice bounce from Nico González, but shot at keeper Sivera.
To make matters worse for Barcelona, Gerard Pique and Nico also had to be replaced by injuries, while Gavi also apparently suffered from the field. The real opportunities then dried up for the struggling Barça. Depay awarded Coutinho a free kick on the edge of the penalty area, who shot just over.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | V | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Madrid | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 24 |
| 2 | Seville | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 24 |
| 3 | Real Sociedad | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 24 |
| 4 | Real Betis | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 21 |
| 5 | Rayo Vallecano | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 19 |
| 6 | Atletico Madrid | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 19 |
| 7 | Osasuna | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | -1 | 19 |
| 8 | Athletic Club | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 17 |
| 9 | Barcelona | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 16 |
| 10 | Valencia | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 16 |
| 11 | Espanyol | 11 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 14 |
| 12 | Real Majorca | 11 | 3 | 4 | 4 | -6 | 13 |
| 13 | Villarreal | 11 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 12 |
| 14 | Celta de Vigo | 11 | 3 | 1 | 7 | -4 | 10 |
| 15 | Elche | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | -6 | 10 |
| 16 | Alaves | 11 | 3 | 1 | 7 | -8 | 10 |
| 17 | Granada | 10 | 1 | 5 | 4 | -6 | 8 |
| 18 | Cadiz | 11 | 1 | 5 | 5 | -8 | 8 |
| 19 | Levante | 11 | 0 | 6 | 5 | -9 | 6 |
| 20 | getafe | 11 | 0 | 3 | 8 | -13 | 3 |