Deportivo Alaves 0-5 Barcelona: 5 Talking Points as Blaugrana finish with a flourish | La Liga 2019-20 

Deportivo Alaves v FC Barcelona - La Liga
Deportivo Alaves v FC Barcelona - La Liga

#3 Quique Setien sweating on fitness of key players ahead of Champions League

Lenglet huddled off injured
Lenglet huddled off injured

When the Barcelona teamsheet for the clash with Alaves was released, just five names were on the bench against the allowed number of 11, which was indicative of how depleted Setien's options were.

The Catalans are currently rocked by injuries to first-team players, with Ousmane Dembele (hamstring), Samuel Umtiti (knee), Antoine Griezmann (muscle), Arthur (ankle), and Jean-Clair Todibo (groin) all currently sidelined.

For most of the game, Clement Lenglet struggled with an injury and was substituted at the start of the second half, while Luis Suarez also showed signs of discomfort.

With a marquee clash against Napoli coming up in the Champions League, Quique Setien would hope most of his players can return to full fitness in a bid end a disastrous season on a high.


#2 Poor Alaves fail to turn up

Alaves were no match for Barcelona's brilliance
Alaves were no match for Barcelona's brilliance

With their 2-1 away win over Real Betis guaranteeing their safety in the Spanish top-flight, Alaves came into this fixture with nothing but pride to play for.

Perhaps they went overboard in their celebrations but El Glorioso put up a no-show on their own turf, with strikers Lucas Perez and Joselu on the peripheries throughout the match, while Neto was not called into any meaningful action.


#1 Lionel Messi poised for yet more records

Lionel Messi was the star of the show again
Lionel Messi was the star of the show again

Due to Barcelona's shortcomings this season, the general consensus is that Lionel Messi had a poor campaign. However, a closer look at the numbers reveals that this is far from the case.

On many occasions, the 33-year-old has been the individual driving force for the Catalans and it says a lot about his lofty standards that a campaign which saw him score 25 goals and register 21 assists is considered poor.

Having earlier equalled Xavi's LaLiga record for most assists in a single season with his 20th assist against Real Valladolid, Messi went one further and made the LaLiga record his own when he set up Ansu Fati for the game's opener.

He would also have his eyes on more records, as with his brace, he went four clear of nearest challenger Karim Benzema in the race for the Golden Boot.

Barring an otherwordly performance from the Real Madrid man against Leganes, Messi would win a seventh Pichichi award, taking him one clear of the great Telmo Zarra as the man with the most LaLiga Golden Boots in history.

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Edited by Vishal Subramanian
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