Alaves starting on the front foot in this one wasn’t a surprise, given that Barca had wrapped up the league title in their previous fixture and had made eight changes to their starting lineup.
Ibrahim Diabate had the game’s first opportunity in the opening minute, before a flurry of half-chances for the visitors. Quality in front of goal was sorely lacking from both sides, though, as – despite nine attempts between them by the half-hour mark – neither camp managed to land an effort on target.
With Robert Lewandowski and Marcus Rashford off colour for the Catalan giants, far too much of the game was spent in a congested midfield, meaning much less of a spectacle as a result.
By contrast, the hosts needed all three points to lift themselves out of the bottom three, so their urgency was understandable, even if it took until right on half-time to beat Wojciech Szczesny, with Diabate holding off Marc Bernal before brilliantly volleying home the opener.
Szczesny had to be alert five minutes into the second half, as Diabate’s powerful downward header would’ve gone in were it not for the Polish custodian’s two-handed intervention.
That said, a five-man defence from Alaves underlined their true priorities, as they sought a first clean sheet in 21 outings.
With 15 minutes to play, it was Barca in the ascendancy, as they consistently pinned their hosts back into their own half. But try as they might, the Catalans just couldn’t breach an outstanding defensive line, and the result sees their 11-game league-winning streak come to an end.
Meanwhile, Alaves’ first win over their visitors in eight years and 18 fixtures means they climb to 15th place in the table with two games left to play.