Barcelona Player Ratings vs. Alaves: Championship Hangover Ends 100-Point Dream

Barcelona’s mission to become the third team in La Liga history to reach the 100-point mark came to an end on Wednesday night, falling 1–0 to relegation candidate Deportivo Alavés in their first game since becoming league champions.

Hansi Flick’s side were greeted with a guard of honor as back-to-back La Liga champions and had a positive start to the game. But their inability to convert on the chances they created—albeit not necessarily clear—costed them.

A heavily-rotated Barcelona struggled to generate danger, and all it took was an corner and a couple of rebounds for Ibrahim Diabate to pounce and score the match-winner with the last kick before half time. Although Barcelona applied pressure until the end, they were toothless and saw their 11-game win streak in La Liga come to an end.

For the second time in as many seasons under Flick, Barcelona lost their first game after winning La Liga. The defeat won’t take to long to get over from Barça’s point of view, but it’s an immense win for Alavés in their fight for survival.

One Thing We Can’t Ignore

Hansi Flick deployed a makeshift XI. | Cesar Ortiz Gonzalez/Soccrates/Getty Images

With the league title already in the bag and less than 48-hours removed from Barcelona’s championship parade that went deep into the night, Flick decided to drastically rotate his side, making eight changes to the XI that took the pitch in El Clásico on Sunday.

Pau Cubarsí, Marcus Rashford and Dani Olmo were the only repeat starters against Alavés, and five players that didn’t even see the pitch against Real Madrid started the match. Barcelona still dominated possession and enjoyed spells of good play, but the makeshift team looked out of sync at times and struggled to create clear chances.

An unimaginative Barcelona failed to register a single shot on goal the entire game, a stat indicative of how poor they were offensively as they failed to score a goal in a La Liga match for the first time since Dec. 2024.

It’s not like Alavés were vastly superior, but all it took was one set-piece against the run of play to pounce on their moment.

With Lamine Yamal injured, plus Raphinha and Fermín López also not making the trip to the Basque country, coming back was always going to be difficult. Still, it’s not like Flick appeared too concerned with making a comeback, given La Masia youngster Xavi Espart, a right back with four senior appearances, was one of the substitutes he introduced in the second half, as was Tommy Marqués, who had only played six minutes for the first team.

Barcelona still had enough quality to win the contest, but there’s no denying their chances were compromised from the moment Flick’s lineup was announced.

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

It was a forgettable evening for Robert Lewandowski. | Ander Gillenea/AFP/Getty Images

*Ratings provided by FotMob*

GK: Wojciech Szczęsny—6.9: The Barcelona fan favorite had a couple of nice saves in his first action of 2026, but there was little he could do to prevent Diabate’s goal.

RB: Jules Koundé—6.9: Another somewhat shaky performance from the Frenchman. As many teams have this season, Alavés targeted the Frenchman’s back, with Abderrahman Rebbach getting in behind him and receiving the ball in dangerous areas.

CB: Pau Cubarsí—6.6: Despite being two years younger than his center back partner on the night, Cubarsí looked like a veteran leader alongside the debutant next to him. Another stellar showing in every area from the teenager, who’s having a sensational end of the season.

CB: Álvaro Cortés—7.2: A promising showing in his Barça debut, competing brilliantly in the air and looking poised on the ball. Looks like he belongs.

LB: Alejandro Balde—7.1: Flawless defensively, shutting down Alavés's right wing with relative ease. His contributions in attack were slim.

DM: Marc Bernal—7.1: Outmuscled by Diabate in the action of Alavés’s opener. Although he had a solid game otherwise, his inability to win against that particular duel against the Ivorian striker is was the highlight of his night.

DM: Marc Casadó—6.5: Casadó kept things moving in possession, and was everywhere on the pitch, contributing with timely defensive recoveries and dangerously crashing the box on a couple of occasions. Still, he grew erratic as the game went on and was hooked just past the hour mark.

RW: Roony Bardghji—6.4: Constantly tried to make something happen as he was regularly involved, but the young Swede had a hard time getting away from defenders, with his dribbling letting him down multiple times. Bardghji has visible talent, but he remains incredibly raw.

AM: Dani Olmo—6.9: The best player on the pitch, and it wasn’t particularly close. He threaded passes between the lines no other player on the pitch could’ve imagined, had silky smooth dribbles and seemingly always made the right decision. His level dropped after the interval.

LW: Marcus Rashford—6.4: Had three chances to open the scoring early, but he either took too long to get a shot off, missed the target or had his attempt blocked. After a bright and positive start, his influence diminished as the minutes ticked on.

ST: Robert Lewandowski—6.0: Ineffective night from Barcelona’s captain on the night, who struggled to get involved. The one clear chance he had, with both Rashford and Bardghji open on either side of him entering the box, he was victim of overthinking and ended up turning around and losing possession.

SUB: Xavi Espart (62’ for Cubarsí)—6.7: Solid cameo from Espart, who was accurate in his distribution and had some nice deliveries from the right wing.

SUB: Pedri (62’ for Casadó)—6.7: Pedri’s introduction instantly saw Barcelona play 30 yards higher up the pitch. Still, he dedicated himself to simply recycle possession.

SUB: Ferran Torres (62’ for Bardghji)—5.9: Had a few nice runs, but his decision-making let him down.

SUB: João Cancelo (79’ for Balde)—6.0: A stellar delivery from the right was the closest Barcelona got to finding an equalizer in the dying minutes.

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
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) May 13, 2026

With the title already secured, Flick awarded 21-year-old Álvaro Cortés his first team debut. The La Masia left-footed center back has impressed this season for Barça Atlètic, and Flick has already stated he wants him to be a part of the first team preseason this summer. He is one to keep an eye on in the future.
Roony Bardghji continues to leave plenty to be desired, once again failing to produce much of anything in Yamal’s position. The Swede has had plenty of opportunities to impress in recent weeks but has failed to make any meaningful contributions. With how raw he looks, it wouldn’t be surprising if he leaves on loan this summer.
Both Marc Bernal and Marc Casadó had highs and lows against Alavés, but Flick once again evidenced that he prefers the former over the latter in his side—and he’s clearly the more talented player. There’s a reason why many expect Casadó to be sold this summer.

The Numbers That Explain Barça’s Uncharacteristic Defeat

Barcelona failed to score for the first time in 55 La Liga games, breaking what was the longest streak in Europe’s top-five leagues, one that started back in Dec. 2024.
Flick’s side not scoring shouldn’t come as a surprise given they failed to muster a single shot on goal on the night, leading to an xG of 0.59.
Barcelona lost away at Alavés for the first time since 2001, and a 10-year unbeaten run against Alavés came to an end on Wednesday, as well as a six-game winning streak.

Statistic	Deportivo Alavés	Barcelona
Possession	23%	77%
Expected Goals (xG)	0.66	0.59
Total Shots	9	8
Shots on Target	3	0
Big Chances	1	0
Passing Accuracy	59%	89%
Fouls Committed	14	8
Corners	6	4

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