Jordi Alba speaks out after Barcelona draw 1-1 against Deportivo Alaves

Barcelona did not make the most auspicious of the starts to their post-Ronald Koeman era as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Deportivo Alaves at Camp Nou in La Liga.

In what was interim manager Sergi Barjuan’s first game in charge of the team, the Catalans controlled proceedings for most of the game but were unable to create enough chances. And on the instances that they did, the final end product was found lacking again.

Nonetheless, after a period of dominance, Barcelona took the lead through Memphis Depay’s stunning curler that nestled into the top corner four minutes into the second half.

The lead, however, lasted for just three minutes as Alaves struck back in the 52nd minute through Luis Rioja, who had scored in both the league games between these two teams in the last season as well.

It was yet another underwhelming result for the Blaugrana that leaves them in the ninth position in the table, with just 16 points after 11 games. Addressing the media after the game, left-back Jordi Alba admitted that the performance from the team was not good enough, collectively.

“It’s a very disappointing point. We wanted to get the three points here at Camp Nou. This is bad and unacceptable for Barcelona. Memphis’ goal came from a good individual performance. The coach asked us to be united, to be in solidarity with each other and to press well,” Alba said.

“We have shown merits, but it is very difficult for us to score goals and rivals seem to score with ease. That’s very difficult,” he added.

The veteran defender also took the occasion to thank the Barcelona fans for their support during the contest. “I thank the fans for being with us.”

The result means Barcelona have now made their worst start to a La Liga season since 2002/03. Up next for them is a crucial UEFA Champions League clash against Dynamo Kyiv where Barjuan will be hoping to lead the team to a win.

Source: BarcaTV+