Much was expected of Barcelona from their recent game against Deportivo Alaves. Ultimately, La Blaugrana managed to win their La Liga encounter but did so in a rather unconvincing manner. For the fans as well as the coaches, the game was quite the frustrating ordeal.
Conceding early into the game, around the 18th second to be exact, Barcelona already began the game on the back foot. However, despite Barcelona ultimately ending up winning, the game leaves much to ponder still on their plate.
Time for a change of scenery
Just as SPORT points out, the next twelve days away from club football should be quite helpful in dealing with this. While players will not get the physical rest they would have hoped for, due to the international break’s demands, they will get a breather away from the frustrations and drama of club football.
After several meetings between both players and coaches, many expected better of Barcelona. La Blaugrana came into this game having put on display sluggish performances against Real Sociedad and Shakhtar Donetsk. Ideally, Barcelona would have hoped for an adequate response but were left with nothing more than another rather scrappy win.
Still some fight left
While Barcelona do record a win, the way the side wins is also very important to this particular club. However, signs of life have not completely died out. Despite the horrid first half, Barcelona showed great character and improvement in the second half.
Moreover, the season is fortunately still all to play for. Barcelona next face FC Porto in the Champions League at the Montjuic Stadium. While it is not exactly Camp Nou, the Montjuic Stadium has proven to be a great replacement.
With Barcelona having recorded eight wins out of the nine games they have played there, they will feel confident when welcoming their Portuguese opponents. Moreover, with Girona being only four points away and Real Madrid being two points away, even the race for La Liga is still very open.
