Barça failed to come up with a winner, despite playing a majority in the second half with an extra man.
Barcelona players are angry
Antoine Griezmann said Barcelona players were furious after a 1-1 draw at Deportivo Alaves in LaLiga on Saturday. Barça failed to come up with a winner, despite playing a majority in the second half with an extra man. A mistake by goalkeeper Neto allowed Luis Rioja to give Alaves the lead before Jota was shown a second yellow for a dangerous high kick against Gerard Pique. France striker Griezmann levelled the score with a classy finish shortly after that, but the Blaugrana were unable to find their way past Fernando Pacheco in the Alaves goal. Pacheco’s seven saves were more than any other goalkeeper made in LaLiga against Barça this season. In contrast, Lionel Messi made ten shots 90 minutes later but failed to get his name on the scoreboard and now scored just once of his last 45 direct free-kicks for Barcelona.
The team needs Grieaman’s goals
“We are angry, and angry because we wanted three points,” Griezmann said at a press conference afterwards. “We fail a lot in front of the goal; I’m the first. We had a lot of chances, but we only scored one. We have to work to improve. The team needs my goals, and I am trying to improve that.” The result meant that Barça lost further positions on Real Madrid and are now eight points behind the 12th-ranked leaders. It also ensured them equalize their combined worst start to the season since LaLiga changed to three points for a win – Barcelona also had eight points after six games in 2002-03. However, Griezmann was quick to stress that no one at the club began to panic despite the stuttering start.
“We have to improve and work, and it will be like that. We need peace of mind because the campaign is long,” added Griezmann. “Barca still have a lot to improve. We must now work towards Wednesday’s game against Dynamo Kiev and try to win.” Barcelona need to quickly pull themselves together as they host Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League on Wednesday before facing Real Betis in LaLiga on 7 November.