Barcelona 4-1 CD Alaves: 5 players who impressed for the Catalans | LaLiga 2019-20
Barcelona got back to winning ways after two consecutive stalemates, dispatching Alaves 4-1 in front of a half-full Camp Nou. The win saw the Catalans consolidate their spot at the top of the league standings and ensured they signed off the decade with a convincing victory.
Although the overall performance left a lot to be desired, Barcelona did enough to put daylight between them and their Basque opponents and Ernesto Valverde would have been impressed with the displays of a number of his players.
In this piece, we shall be highlighting five players who played a key role in the convincing victory enjoyed by the Blaugrana.
#5 Sergio Busquets
Sergio Busquets has proved his value to the Barcelona cause throughout his career and it can be argued that after Lionel Messi, the Sabadell native is the next most important player to the Catalans' success on the field.
Having been dropped from the starting XI against Real Madrid (for reasons later revealed to be a virus), the Spanish international was restored to the starting lineup against Alaves and he was back to what he does best, acting as a shield for the defence and being the first line of attack.
Busquets went about his business in his normal unassuming way and while he might have been outshone by his more attack-minded teammates, keen observers of the game would not underestimate his importance to Barcelona's victory over Alaves.
In total, he made three successful interceptions and one tackle, while he was also the instigator of many attacks and offered on-field direction and guidance to the younger Carlos Alena who was afforded a rare start alongside him. The 31-year-old was substituted for Frenkie de Jong with 11 minutes remaining and the ovation he got from the crowd was indicative of the value he added to Barcelona in the game.
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