Barcelona welcomed Deportivo Alaves at the Camp Nou in La Liga last Saturday and treated them to four goals in their nets with just one in their own. For the majority of the game, the Catalans were in firm control bar a short spell later on in the second half and the victory was, especially with a touch of Lionel Messi magic, warranted.
This tactical analysis will give you both teams’ tactics and tell you how Ernesto Valverde’s troops beat Asier Garitano’s.
Lineups
There were a couple of changes in the hosts’ lineup that was deployed in a familiar 4-3-3 system. Samuel Umtiti was given a nod in front of Clement Lenglet in the centre of Barcelona’s defence while the midfield saw the biggest changes.
Carles Aleñá started and finished the game – a rarity in his case in 2019/20 – and was paired up with Arturo Vidal and Sergio Busquets. The forward line remained the same with Lionel Messi leading the charge with Luis Suárez and Antoine Griezmann.
Similarly to the home team, Deportivo Alavés also decided to stick to most of their usual big guns but were deployed in a rather defensive 4-4-1-1 system that was seemingly used more as an effort to shut Barcelona down rather than contest them.
The only two changes from their draw with Leganés in La Liga less than two weeks ago were the introduction of Javier Muñoz instead of Joselu just behind the striker, Lucas Pérez, and the return of Mubarak Wakaso, who was serving his suspension prior to this clash.
