Barcelona vs. Alaves: Score and Reaction from 2016 LaLiga Match
Alaves delivered the first major shock of the 2016-17 LaLiga season on Saturday, beating Barcelona 2-1 at the Camp Nou.
The Blaugrana ran into a brick wall in the first half as Alaves defended deep near their own box, and Deyverson gave the visitors a shock lead just before half-time.
Jeremy Mathieu tied things up shortly after the break, but Ibai Gomez restored Alaves' lead in the 64th minute. Barcelona pushed high up the pitch in search of an equaliser, but Alaves stood their ground, completing a historic night for the newly promoted club.
Manager Luis Enrique opted to leave Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Luis Suarez on the bench at the start of the match:
Summer signing Paco Alcacer made his debut for Barcelona, as did goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen, who replaced the injured Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Alaves sat deep in their own half to start the match, isolating Alcacer from his team-mates. Neymar had a lively start, but the Catalans couldn't find their footing without two of their main attacking outlets on the pitch.
Arda Turan also struggled to break free as the spaces in the centre of the pitch were closed down quickly. Cillessen almost positioned himself at the midfield line at times, and per Sport, he was called into action after 13 minutes to deny Gomez:
It took 15 minutes for Barcelona to have their first shot on target, with Denis Suarez testing goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco. Ivan Rakitic also tried his luck, but his ambitious attempt flew well over the bar.
Edgar Antonio Mendez showed the visitors had few attacking ambitions, firing a shot from 40 yards out, but Alaves' defensive tactics worked to perfection early. Alcacer had no space to work with, while Turan and Neymar didn't fare much better, with the former blasting a shot from a tight angle high and wide.
Pacheco missed a high cross that no one connected with, and Sergio Busquets comically missed the target with a header after a fine delivery from Neymar, with the offside flag being raised as well.
Meanwhile, MisterChip dug up this surprising statistic:
Neymar's frustrating night continued with a dreadful free-kick that cleared several rows of the Camp Nou stands, and just as Barcelona's frustrations seemed to reach their peak, Alaves struck. Deyverson diverted a cross from Kiko Femenia past Cillessen, giving the visitors an unlikely lead.
Neymar could have tied things up minutes later, but he sent a diving header well wide of the target.
Rakitic also failed to hit the target after a nifty move, bringing the half to an end.
Football writer Sid Lowe tweeted what most fans were probably thinking:
The three stayed on the bench to start the second half, but the hosts didn't need the big guns, as it took Barcelona just two minutes to tie the match.
Neymar fired a great corner, and Mathieu popped up in front of Pacheco to power home the header.
Sport's Rik Sharma couldn't help himself:
The Frenchman should have scored a second goal minutes later, but he somehow fired wide from close range after another corner.
Alaves were all over the place, but Barcelona failed to take advantage. Edgar thought he had given his side the lead again after 52 minutes, but the offside flag was raised before the ball hit the net.
Alcacer fired his first shot of the night wide before Messi was introduced with 30 minutes left to play, with the Camp Nou giving him a standing ovation.
His first shot flew wide of the target before Alaves again shocked the hosts. Gomez skipped past two defenders to dive into the box and neatly placed the ball past Cillessen, giving his team the lead again.
Marca's Simon Harrison thought Javier Mascherano was at fault:
Enrique responded by bringing on Luis Suarez and Iniesta, but Alaves was the more dangerous team on the counter as Barcelona's defence struggled with their raw pace.
The Catalans increased the pace, but the team struggled to create chances, even with their big stars running the show. The frustration got worse as the half wore on, with Alaves barely giving up any space.
Pacheco overcame some of his earlier struggles on high balls to claim back-to-back deliveries, and Gomez kept finding space out wide, forcing Mascherano to keep a close eye on him.
The Blaugrana kept working from crosses, and Iniesta found some space to place a shot on the wrong side of the post. With time running out, desperation kicked in, and Neymar further frustrated the fans with an incredible piece of skill that wasn't followed by a solid pass.
Enrique was furious when the board went up to signal just three minutes of stoppage time, as several Alaves players had spent minutes being treated for injuries throughout the contest. Deyverson was almost released on another counter, and the Basque side held firm, grabbing an unlikely win.
Per Barcelona's official Twitter account, Enrique showed grace in defeat:
Barcelona will host Celtic on Tuesday in their first match of this year's UEFA Champions League, while Alaves will be idle until next week's LaLiga clash with Deportivo La Coruna on Sept. 19.
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