La Liga 2016-17: Alaves 0-6 Barcelona, Player ratings
Barcelona climbed to the top of the La Liga table (albeit for a few hours) with an emphatic victory over Alaves on Saturday. And whilst the Catalans have played three games more than Real Madrid, this is sure to put the pressure on Zinedine Zidane’s men.
After a rather uneasy first 30 minutes, it was Luis Suarez, who began the proceedings for Barca in the 37th minute when he applied the finishing touches to an Aleix Vidal cross. Neymar doubled his side’s lead two minutes later when he capitalised on Alaves’ goalkeeper’s error and thereafter it was all Barcelona.
Lionel Messi, Ivan Rakitic and Luis Suarez scored one apiece in the 2nd half apart from Alexis knocking one into his own net inadvertently to set up a comprehensive victory for the visitors.
Here are the player ratings from the game on a scale of 10.
Alaves
Fernando Pacheco - 6
The Alaves goalkeeper had a rather solid game until he gifted Barcelona their 2nd goal in the 40th minute and was thereafter left frustrated as the Catalan giants showed their class and thumped another 4 goals past him.
Carlos Vigaray – 6
Vigaray dealt well with the threat of Neymar until the second goal. However, it was his lapse in concentration that allowed Messi to snatch the ball and score his side’s third goal. He could do very little about the remaining goals as Barca showcased their quality.
Alexis – 5
The centre-back had a poor outing as he failed to sight Suarez’s run for Barca’s first goal. He failed to deal with the threat that came his way and finished the night with an unfortunate own goal to his name as well.
Victor Laguardia – 7
The defender was dominant in the air through the game and won almost everything there was on offer aerially. However, given Barcelona’s quality, it was all but expected that he would be rendered ineffective for large durations of the game.
Theo Hernandez – 6
Hernandez missed a gilt-edged chance to give his side the opportunity to ahead in the first half when the game was still goalless. However, he proved to be a constant threat to Barcelona with his pace and it was unfortunate his game had to end in the horrific way it did when his challenge resulted in a horrific injury to Vidal.
Marcos Llorente – 6
The Real Madrid loanee was impressive during the opening stages of the game and kept his side in the game for large durations of the first half. However, once the game got into the second half, the player cut a frustrated figure and failed to deal with the Barca onslaught.
Daniel Torres – 6
The industrious midfielder did well to not afford the Barcelona attack time and space on the ball. His passing, though, was patchy and the midfielder failed to complement Llorente in the middle of the park.
Ruben Sobrino – 5
The Manchester City loanee was a willing runner for Alaves through the game and threatened on the counter-attack. However, with Vidal in fine form and very little support from his attacking colleagues, he was not very successful in his ventures.
Aleksander Katai – 6
To be fair to the player, he was sporadically good for the hosts throughout the game and looked threatening in patches. However, he faded after a bright start and struggled to stay relevant in the game.
Nenad Krsticic – 5
The Serbian midfielder was largely anonymous through the first half and was deservedly substituted during the break.
Christian Santos – 5
Santos was impressive through the first half as he linked up well with his attacking colleagues. However, he was guilty of missing a golden opportunity to pull one back for his side early in the first half and was thereafter rendered ineffective by the marauding Catalans.
Substitutes
Kiko Femenia – 6
The 26-year-old Spaniard replaced Krsticic at the break and proved to be a breath of fresh air as he looked lively going forward. However, he was subsequently restricted to defensive duties as Barcelona turned up in style.
Oscar Romero – 5
Replaced Katai in the 57th minute but failed to make any real impact on the game during his time on the pitch.
Raul Garcia – NA