Barcelona Stumble Against Alaves, Shattering Their Pursuit of a Historic 100-Point Season

Barcelona's bid to become only the third team in La Liga history to surpass the 100-point threshold was extinguished on Wednesday evening, as they fell 1–0 to relegation-threatened Deportivo Alavés in their first outing since clinching the league title.

Hansi Flick's squad received a guard of honor as defending back-to-back La Liga champions and showed promise early on. However, their failure to convert the opportunities they created—admittedly not all of them clear-cut—ultimately proved costly.

A heavily rotated Barcelona side struggled to pose a genuine threat, and all it took was a corner kick and a pair of rebounds for Ibrahim Diabate to capitalize and net the decisive goal with the final touch before the break. Despite Barcelona pressing relentlessly until the final whistle, they lacked a cutting edge and saw their 11-match winning run in La Liga brought to a halt.

For the second consecutive season under Flick, Barcelona dropped their first match following a La Liga title win. While the loss won't linger long in Barça's memory, it represents a massive three points for Alavés in their battle to avoid the drop.

One Thing We Can't Ignore

With the title already secured and fewer than 48 hours removed from Barcelona's championship celebrations that stretched well into the night, Flick opted for sweeping changes to his lineup, making eight alterations from the XI that featured in El Clásico on Sunday.

Pau Cubarsí, Marcus Rashford, and Dani Olmo were the only players to retain their starting spots against Alavés, while five players who hadn't even featured against Real Madrid were handed starts. Barcelona still controlled possession and produced patches of quality football, but the reshuffled side looked disjointed at times and found it difficult to carve out clear-cut opportunities.

A toothless Barcelona failed to register a single shot on target throughout the entire match, a statistic that underscored just how ineffective they were going forward as they failed to find the net in a La Liga fixture for the first time since December 2024.

It's not as though Alavés were overwhelmingly better, but a single set-piece against the run of play was all they needed to seize their moment.

With Lamine Yamal sidelined through injury, and both Raphinha and Fermín López also absent from the trip to the Basque Country, mounting a comeback was always going to be a tall order. Even so, Flick didn't appear overly eager to chase the game, given that La Masia product Xavi Espart—a right back with just four senior appearances to his name—was among the substitutes introduced in the second half, as was Tommy Marqués, who had previously played only six minutes for the first team.

Barcelona still possessed enough quality to take something from the game, but there's no question their prospects were undermined from the moment Flick's starting lineup was revealed.

Barcelona Player Ratings vs. Alaves (4-2-3-1)

*Ratings provided by FotMob*

GK: Wojciech Szczęsny—6.9: The fan-favorite keeper produced a couple of fine stops in his first appearance of 2026, though he had little chance of keeping out Diabate's winner.

RB: Jules Koundé—6.9: Another somewhat unconvincing display from the Frenchman. Much like several opponents this season, Alavés exploited the space behind him, with Abderrahman Rebbach repeatedly getting in behind and receiving the ball in threatening positions.

CB: Pau Cubarsí—6.6: Despite being two years younger than his central defensive partner on the night, Cubarsí carried himself like a seasoned leader alongside the debutant beside him. Yet another impressive all-round performance from the teenager, who is enjoying a remarkable end to the campaign.

CB: Álvaro Cortés—7.2: An encouraging debut for the Barça newcomer, who excelled in aerial duels and looked composed in possession. He looked every bit like he belongs at this level.

LB: Alejandro Balde—7.1: Defensively impeccable, neutralizing Alavés's right flank with little difficulty. His attacking output, however, was limited.

DM: Marc Bernal—7.1: Was outmuscled by Diabate in the buildup to Alavés's opener. While he performed solidly for the most part, losing that individual battle against the Ivorian forward proved to be the defining moment of his evening.

DM: Marc Casadó—6.5: Casadó kept the ball moving in midfield and covered plenty of ground, chipping in with well-timed defensive interventions and making a couple of threatening runs into the box. Nevertheless, his performance became increasingly erratic as the game progressed and he was substituted just after the hour mark.

RW: Roony Bardghji—6.4: Persistently looked to create something and was frequently involved in play, but the young Swede struggled to shake off defenders, with his dribbling failing him on multiple occasions. Bardghji clearly has ability, but he is still very much a work in progress.

AM: Dani Olmo—6.9: Comfortably the standout performer on the pitch. He threaded passes into pockets of space that no other player could have envisioned, produced silky dribbles, and consistently made the right call. His influence waned somewhat after the break.

LW: Marcus Rashford—6.4: Was presented with three opportunities to break the deadlock early on, but either delayed his shot, missed the target, or saw his effort blocked. After a lively opening, his impact faded as the game wore on.

ST: Robert Lewandowski—6.0: A frustrating night for Barcelona's captain, who struggled to make his presence felt. On his one clear opportunity, with both Rashford and Bardghji making runs on either side of him into the box, he overthought the situation, turned back, and surrendered possession.

SUB: Xavi Espart (62' for Cubarsí)—6.7: A composed cameo from Espart, who was tidy in his passing and delivered some quality balls from the right flank.

SUB: Pedri (62' for Casadó)—6.7: Pedri's arrival immediately pushed Barcelona's defensive line 30 yards further up the pitch. That said, he largely focused on recycling possession rather than driving forward.

SUB: Ferran Torres (62' for Bardghji)—5.9: Showed some nice movement in behind, but his decision-making was poor throughout.

SUB: João Cancelo (79' for Balde)—6.0: A superb delivery from the right side was Barcelona's closest attempt at finding a late equalizer.

SUB: Tomás Marqués—N/A

Subs not used: Eder Aller (GK), Joan García (GK), Andreas Christensen, Eric García, Gerard Martín, Gavi, Ronald Araújo.

What the Ratings Tell Us

Debut for Álvaro Cortés 👏 pic.twitter.com/ty484S2FP4

The Numbers That Explain Barça's Uncharacteristic Defeat