Barcelona narrowly won a LaLiga victory on Sunday evening. On a visit to Deportivo Alavés, it looked for a long time that trainer Xavi’s team would run into a loss of points, but in the 87th minute of play, Frenkie de Jong brought the redemption: 0-1. Thanks to the victory, the series of three official games without a win came to an end. Los Azulgrana finish the weekend in fifth position in the ranking; Alavés is nineteenth.
Luuk de Jong was allowed to show himself again to the Catalan visitors from the first whistle. There were also base places for Sergiño Dest, Frenkie de Jong and Ferran Torres. Dest is the most notable name in the starting XI as Xavi has favored Dani Alves as right-back in recent weeks. Memphis Depay was missing due to a hamstring injury and Ansu Fati, Eric García, Samuel Umtiti and Sergi Roberto also had to miss the game with Alavés. In addition, Gavi is not eligible to play due to a suspension; Ousmane Dembélé was left out of the match selection for disciplinary reasons.
Frenkie de Jong saves Barcelona! ????? Finally a good attack from Barcelona in a difficult game: this time it is ‘the other De Jong’ who can finish in the absence of Luuk ??#ZiggoSport #LaLiga #AlavesBarca pic.twitter.com/NI3GTZIGHj
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) January 23, 2022
Barcelona dominated the first half, but Xavi’s team failed to create well-played opportunities. The Catalans often played long balls, which clearly did not shake the Basque defense. Although Alavés didn’t show much, the most dangerous moment of the match was created on the stroke of the halftime signal. After a lightning-fast counter, Pere Pons was able to distinguish himself with goalkeeper Marc-André Ter Stegen; the latter, however, saw the ball coming straight for him and made the save.
Even after the break, the first danger came from Pons’ foot. The attacker received a low cross from Joselu near the five-meter line, but Pons, who hoped to score with the heel, lacked purity in the completion. On the other side, Frenkie de Jong missed an opportunity, as he did not touch the ball from close range after a misunderstanding with Ferran. The Catalans kept looking for the liberating goal; Alavés, however, was very concentrated in defending. Luuk de Jong, among others, failed to convert a measured cross from Pedri. Alavés received several offensive impulses. The best chance was for Joselu, who nodded just wide after Jason’s cross.
The ban was still broken in the final phase. Frenkie de Jong moved into an offside position after a pass from behind, but the ball was not intended for the Dutchman. Ferran did gain possession of the ball on the right side of the sixteen and served the Frenkie de Jong, who had remained in front of the goal. From close by, the midfielder completed in a cool way: 0-1.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | V | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Madrid | 22 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 27 | 50 |
| 2 | Seville | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 18 | 46 |
| 3 | Real Betis | 22 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 16 | 40 |
| 4 | Atletico Madrid | 21 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 36 |
| 5 | Barcelona | 21 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 35 |
| 6 | Real Sociedada | 21 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 34 |
| 7 | Villarreal | 22 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 13 | 32 |
| 8 | Rayo Vallecano | 21 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 31 |
| 9 | Athletic Club | 22 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 31 |
| 10 | Valencia | 22 | 7 | 8 | 7 | -1 | 29 |
| 11 | Osasuna | 22 | 7 | 7 | 8 | -5 | 28 |
| 12 | Celta de Vigo | 22 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 27 |
| 13 | Espanyol | 22 | 7 | 6 | 9 | -4 | 27 |
| 14 | Granada | 22 | 5 | 9 | 8 | -7 | 24 |
| 15 | Elche | 22 | 5 | 8 | 9 | -7 | 23 |
| 16 | getafe | 22 | 5 | 7 | 10 | -6 | 22 |
| 17 | Real Majorca | 21 | 4 | 8 | 9 | -16 | 20 |
| 18 | Cadiz | 22 | 3 | 9 | 10 | -17 | 18 |
| 19 | Alaves | 22 | 4 | 5 | 13 | -19 | 17 |
| 20 | Levante | 21 | 1 | 8 | 12 | -22 | 11 |