Barca get the gritty win that has escaped them this season

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The Blaugrana were tested but persevered to narrow the gap in the table with Real Madrid

That was a feelgood victory against a stubborn and determined Alavés team that anyone invested in Barcelona this season should feel ecstatic about.

A first half that produced feelings of Getafe déjà vu, followed by a second half where all the right tactical and mental adjustments were made.

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This Barcelona team is thrilling in their ability to score, four, five, or even seven goals. But the truth is, a 1-0 victory counts for just as much. The story of this season has been that when Barcelona wins, they win big. But when things aren’t going their way, they struggle to adapt and produce a response.

That’s why this Alavés win was so critical. Aside from the obvious necessity of capturing the three points on the same weekend Real Madrid faltered, Barcelona learned how to grind out a win against an obstinate bottom of the table team fighting for survival.

In part, that required accepting that all you really need is one goal, while preventing your much less talented foe from getting easy chances in the area. In-game management is the name of the game.

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Hansi Flick took full advantage of the half-time break to make the message clear, and change a few players to give his team the best chance at shaking up the dynamic of the game in order to find the breakthrough.

Hopefully, Barcelona were also reminded of the attacking patterns that have worked best this season regardless of the opponent, and that’s when they play direct and vertical.

In the first half, you saw a team resorting to the safe and bad habit of trying to keep possession, while building their way through the thirds. Alavés was ready for this, and propelled almost every attacking sequence with ease.

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In the second half, Barcelona increased the rhythm, and took more chances with balls over the top and through, which immediately unsettled the visitors, while animating the home crowd. The opening goal of the game looked inevitable until it finally arrived in the 61st minute.

From there, Barcelona played clean and risk averse, determined to get the result above all else.

And when the final whistle blew there was a wry smile on the faces of the Barcelona players, like they had cracked the code, and gotten the monkey off their back.

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Different games call for different approaches. You can’t assume that the easy La Liga games will be against the teams at the bottom of the table. In fact, it’s likely to be the case that the easier games for Barcelona will come against the better teams that value attacking football.

Now the gap at the top of the Spanish table stands at four, with Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid facing off next weekend. This is another chance for Barcelona to climb in the standings, and make the race for the Liga title really interesting.

The lesson learned must be to take no game for granted.

Barcelona beat Valencia 7-1 last time, but on Wednesday, in the Copa del Rey, they should expect a much better, and more adapted opponent.

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Sevilla is not having one of their best seasons, but when Barcelona travels to Andalusia on Sunday, they should be ready for a hostile crowd who will want to see them lose as much as they want to see their own team win.

It’s not tactics that will get Barcelona back in the running in Spain, but mentality. Being ready for whatever is thrown at them on any given day.

On Sunday, they passed the test against Alavés. The question will be whether they can learn from the experience and become a smarter team the rest of the way, because the margin for error is small now.

One thing’s for sure though. Hay Liga. And it’s going to be a must-watch show.

Source: barcablaugranes.com