Barcelona 2-1 Alaves: 5 Talking Points

#2 There wasn’t enough penetration in attack from the hosts

Barcelona v Deportivo Alaves - La Liga

On Philippe Coutinho’s league debut, there was a real buzz around the place with a first opportunity to see the Brazilian link up with his former Liverpool teammate Suarez, Iniesta and, of course, Messi in prospect. Starting on the right-hand side, with the freedom to cut inside, he looked lively with a few nice touches, but fatigue from the injury that had delayed his first start soon began to catch up with him. That resulted in a lack of energy as his game progressed.

Paulinho has been a surprise package for Barcelona this season. Mocked by neutrals after his move from Guangzhou Evergrande in China, the former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder has really found his place in the Catalans’ set up. He has eight goals in 19 games this term, thanks in the main to his late runs into the box to support the likes of Messi and Suarez; with the superstars taking up most of the attention, he is often free to pick up the pieces.

Yet, despite going close moments before Suarez’s equaliser about 20 minutes from time, he was markedly less involved throughout the night.