*Milan Hit Inter 3-1
*Resurgent Spurs Down Palace 2-0
Barcelona needed to get back to winning ways, and Alavés paid the price.
Two consecutive losses for a Barcelona team that felt invincible at the start of the season didn’t sit well. Not because they weren’t possible—they certainly were—but because they brought Flick’s team back down to earth.
The silver lining to those losses is that they came early, with plenty of time to recover, and that—aside from next Sunday’s trip to the Metropolitano—it’s early November and Flick’s men have already gotten 75% of the season’s toughest matches out of the way.
Now comes a calmer stretch, as was the case with the visit from Alavés, yesterday (Saturday, 31 October), who arrived on a six-game winless streak.
Logic prevailed, and Barcelona regained the lead by comfortably picking up three points with a lopsided victory—just like the one before the two losses.
Alavés lined up in a 4-5-1 formation with two very high lines, looking to narrow the field against Barça, but their game plan lasted only eight minutes.
Pedri broke through the lines by playing the ball to the unmarked Fermín, who delivered a killer pass for Raphinha to make it 1-0. It was the Brazilian’s 14th goal in LaLiga.
Quique Sánchez Flores’s team, far from being shaken by the goal, had two good chances of their own, but Rebbach fired wide on a cross from Angel Pérez despite having everything in his favor, and Rodri blocked a header from Boyé that was headed for the net with his face. A good response from the Vitorians.
Barcelona’s absences forced Flick to field a defense as unusual as the one consisting of debutant Brian Fariñas, De Jong playing center back in place of Cubarsí, and Cancelo on the left.
Alavés’ highly defensive approach helped highlight their potential weaknesses, but Barça passed the test well in containing a very isolated Boyé up front.
Barça’s effectiveness increased in the 22nd minute when they broke through Alavés’ lines for the second time.
Rodri played the ball to Lamine, who found Fermín, and Fermín’s shot beat Sivera, who could have done better. The match was decided, and now it’s time to focus on Aston Villa.
The 2-0 score really stung Alavés. And within two minutes, Raphinha and Lamine missed two more surefire goals.
On the first, the Brazilian didn’t expect Sivera to let a manageable ball slip through his hands, and on the second, the Alavés goalkeeper made a spectacular save.
With Flores’s team in disarray, the third goal came when Fermín set up Raphinha, allowing the Brazilian to score his 15th goal by chipping it over Sivera. The No. 9 on loan that Flick came up with continues to work wonders.
And there was time for a fourth goal before halftime: a stunning strike by Lamine, a low shot from outside the box that curled just inside the post.
Second Half
In the second half, Flick benched Pedri, and Flores brought on Toni Martínez to play with two forwards. But nothing changed. Barça’s dominance was total; they played as if the score were 0-0.
Adeyemi missed another sure goal—just like Raphinha and Lamine had in the first half—that would have made it 5-0.
That score came with half an hour remaining and via VAR after Lamine chipped the ball over the onrushing Sivera following a pass from Gabriel Jesus. It was initially disallowed but overturned after a video review. Yamal’s tenth LaLiga goal—he continues to sharpen his finishing as the season progresses.
Mariano Saves Alavés’ Reputation
After scoring their usual five goals early on, the team relaxed a bit with Raphinha and Lamine no longer on the field.
But for this team, relaxing doesn’t mean taking their foot off the gas, and that’s how the sixth goal came about when Anthony Gordon capitalized on a great pass from Rodri to score the sixth.
In the final minutes, Alavés salvaged some pride with a goal by Mariano, who capitalized on a lapse by Rodri.
The objective had been more than achieved with the rout, but it stung Flick that they didn’t keep a clean sheet. The team that had everyone captivated two weeks ago is back on top and hopes to maintain this strong form for a long time.
This week, it will be Emery and Simeone who try to emulate Luis Enrique and Mourinho.
Man City Rue Poor Finishing In Home Loss To Brighton
Earlier, in the English Premier League (EPL), Manchester City slumped to their second defeat in a row on Saturday, going down 1-0 at home to third-placed Brighton & Hove Albion thanks to an early goal by Yasin Ayari.
City could be knocked off their perch at the top of the table if Arsenal get at least a point at Liverpool today (Sunday, 1 November).
The defeat was City’s first at home by Brighton in the Premier League, and though Enzo Maresca’s side managed 21 shots on goal, only six were on target and none managed to beat keeper Bart Verbruggen.
“Unbelievable feeling. We go 1-0 up and then to hang tight, the last 30-40 minutes we completely lost control of the game,” Verbruggen told Sky Sports.
“The manager said this morning we have to dig deep and that’s what we did. So happy to get over the line and can’t wait to celebrate with the boys,” he added.
City remained top on 21 points, ahead of Arsenal on goal difference, and Brighton remain third on 19 points after six wins and a draw in their opening nine games.
“(We’re) just focusing every day on what’s ahead of us and the job we have. We will continue to do that and see where it leaves us at the end of the season,” Verbruggen said.
Haaland Struggles
City’s star-studded attack struggled, with giant Norwegian striker Erling Haaland looking a shadow of himself as his run of scoring in seven successive Premier League games ended.
“We created a lot of chances, disappointing to lose. Didn’t manage to put chances away, on another day we put three or four away,” City midfielder Elliot Anderson said.
“We’re all disappointed. Not good enough, we don’t want to be losing games but we’ve got to stick together – we’ve had a great start to the season, two disappointing results now, but we have to stick together.”
*PHOTO CAPTION: The Barcelona players celebrate one of their goals against Alavés.
RESULTS OF MATCHES PLAYED IN MAJOR EUROPEAN LEAGUES SATURDAY, 31 OCTOBER:
ENGLAND: Premier League
*Chelsea – Manchester Utd 2-0
*Bournemouth – Leeds 2-0
*Brentford – Nottingham 2-0
*Coventry – Sunderland 3-1
*Hull – Ipswich 2-2
*Manchester City – Brighton 0-1
*Tottenham – Crystal Palace 2-0
*Aston Villa – Fulham 1-1
FRANCE: Ligue 1
*Troyes – Le Mans 2-0
GERMANY: Bundesliga
*Augsburg – Freiburg 1-2
*Bayer Leverkusen – Stuttgart 2-4
*B. Monchengladbach – Paderborn 0-0
*Schalke – RB Leipzig 0-2
*Werder Bremen – Hoffenheim 2-0
*Bayern Munich – Dortmund 2-2
ITALY: Serie A
*Bologna – Monza 2-1
*Udinese – AS Roma 2-5
*AC Milan – Inter 3-1
NETHERLANDS: Eredivisie
*Feyenoord – Sittard 1-1
*Heerenveen – Nijmegen 1-0
*PSV – Willem II 7-0
*Ajax – AZ Alkmaar 1-0
*InterruptedCambuur – G.A. Eagles 4-0
SPAIN: LaLiga
*Levante – Atl. Madrid 0-2
*Rayo Vallecano – Celta Vigo 3-0
*Betis – Malaga 2-1
*Barcelona – Alaves 6-1
