FC Barcelona got a hard-fought victory over Deportivo Alaves in their last La Liga match on Sunday. The Catalans went down early in the game, but kept their spirits high and worked hard to come from behind and get a win against their opponents.
Inigo Martinez was one of the players who represented Barcelona last night, and he contributed significantly to the Catalans overturning the scoreline to come out as the victors as it was his through ball to Ferran Torres that got Barcelona the penalty, which Lewandowski converted to make the score 2-1.
Martinez identifies problems faced against Alaves
As SPORT has reported, the former Athletic Club defender spoke to the media after the match. In his comments to the media, he recognized the weak performance of his team in the first half, and the suffering they had to undergo to overturn the deficit:
“It was a tough and well-fought match; Alavés made it challenging for us from the first half. Their goal came again in less than a minute. Once again, we made the same mistake as against Granada or Real Sociedad, but this time it didn’t go in.”
The defender also pinpointed the main problems that the Catalan team faced in this match and how they ultimately got the result in a difficult game:
“We knew they were going to defend deep, and we also knew Samu; he’s very powerful, strong, and creates a lot of danger in open spaces. There were some defensive misalignments at the beginning that caused us many problems. In fact, he had a couple of chances that, luckily, he didn’t convert.”
“That’s what football is about in the end. Through persistence and fighting, we were able to bring the game to our advantage in the second half by improving certain aspects. This is a team, and the important thing is to fight until the end.”
Important advice for the team
Lastly, Martinez also advised the team not to get too taken up with the criticism in the media, but still work to improve on their weaknesses:
“The team should not focus on what is said outside. Here, we are who we are, and we must be united at all times. From there, there will be moments when things go well and others when they don’t. The team has pulled through in very difficult matches, coming from behind, and that’s what we should remember.”
“Obviously, there are many things to improve, and we shouldn’t allow the opponent so much, especially when playing at home where we should feel comfortable and strong. But everyone plays here, and the important thing is to win matches because at the end of the year, no one remembers whether you played well or poorly.”
While everything is not alright, this victory over Alaves was a step in the right direction as the team came over adverse circumstances to get the full three points and keep themselves in contention for first place before the year ended.
Now, it is important to heed Martinez’s advice and not get too discouraged with the media criticism to keep on getting results after the current international break.
