Barcelona were unable to offer an on the pitch distraction to their behind the scenes turmoil as they stuttered to a 1-1 draw with 10-man Alaves in La Liga on Saturday.

Ronald Koeman’s side fell behind just after the half hour mark, Alaves winger Luis Rioja capitalising on a poor touch from Neto to dispossess the Brazilian goalkeeper and roll the ball into an empty net.

The home side then saw Jota sent off for a second bookable offence, and moments later Barcelona were level through Antoine Griezmann’s clipped finish. Barça dominated possession for large spells of the game but could not find a way past a stubborn Alaves backline, who defended deep and got men behind the ball.

Let’s get into some Barcelona player ratings.

Neto (GK) – 4/10 – Poorly controlled Pique’s back pass and dithered on the ball as Luis Rioja robbed him and raced clear to open the scoring.

Sergi Roberto (RB) – 6/10 – Played Messi through with a perfectly weighted pass in the second half and was the livelier of the two Barcelona fullbacks.

Gerard Pique (CB) – 5/10 – Stitched Neto up with an awkward back pass instead of clearing his lines in the build up to Alaves’ opener, having had very little to do defensively all evening. Blazed a glorious opportunity wide at the death.

Clément Lenglet (CB) – 5/10 – Played Fati in with a sumptuous pass and was probably the most unfortunate of the three players to be taken off at half time by Ronald Koeman.

Jordi Alba (LB) – 5/10 – Was very quiet, offering little going forward and was replaced by Sergino Dest with a little over 20 minutes remaining.

Ousmane Dembele (RM) – 4/10 – Enjoyed one particularly exciting burst down the flank as he ignited the burners and flew past Duarte – but it was something he did not produce frequently enough. Surrendered possession cheaply on a couple of occasions and was hauled off at half time.

Sergio Busquets (CM) – 4/10 – Caught out of position as Alaves launched a slick counter attack in the first half. Sloppy in possession at times, hauled off at half time on a booking.

Frenkie de Jong (CM) – 6/10 – Much more efficient in possession than his midfield partner. Moved to centre back as part of a back three at half time but effectively continued to play as a central midfielder when Barcelona were in possession.

Ansu Fati (LM) – 6/10 – Picked out Griezmann with a good cut back in the first half, but squandered one of Barcelona’s best chances when played through by Lenglet. Produced a couple of edge of seat, mazy marauds down the wing. Happy 18th birthday.

Lionel Messi (ST) – 6/10 – Wriggled through in sumptuous Messi style midway through the first half in the buildup to a good opening for Griezmann. Had an effort from close range terrifically palmed round the post in the second half. Crowded out and frustrated at times.

Antoine Griezmann (ST) – 7/10 – Dragged a shot wide in the first half after being found by Fati. Levelled the scores just after the hour mark with a deft finish.

Pedri – 7/10 – Offered a few reasons to be cheerful with another impressive performance, flashes of real intelligence and star quality.

Miralem Pjanic – 6/10 – Brought on at half-time for Busquets and put himself about well enough. Still doesn’t strike you as a Barcelona type player.

Francisco Trincão- 5/10 – On at half-time for Dembele, but didn’t fare much better than the Frenchman. Quiet and ineffective.

Sergino Dest – 6/10 – A 20 minute run-out yielded very little action of note.

Martin Braithwaite – N/A

By Tom Gott | Oct 30, 2020, 10:15 PM GMT

Rayan Ait-Nouri’s Energy and Spark Is Just What Wolves Need to Dominate Games

Before Friday, it had not been a good start to the season for Wolverhampton Wanderers. Nuno Espírito Santo’s side were supposed to be competing for the top four but spent the early weeks of the season looking as they had forgotten how to play football.

Wolves had a habit of being slow and lethargic in the early stages of their games, but they managed to do away with that bad habit in Friday’s 2-0 win over Crystal Palace.

Against a Palace side who didn’t really look like they wanted to be at Molineux, Wolves began with the kind of intensity which we haven’t seen from them all season, and a large part of that was debuting left-back Rayan Aït-Nouri.

The 19-year-old, who joined on loan from Angers during the summer, was drafted in to replace the injured Marçal and wasted little time in proving that he could be the catalyst for change for Wolves.

Nuno’s side have spent this season in a period of transition. They had been trying to do away with their high-tempo style in favour of a slow, methodical possession-based style, and if we’re being truthful, it really didn’t work. Results weren’t bad, but performances were dull.

However, what Aït-Nouri brought that Marçal or Roman Saïss don’t is that energy. He was constantly flying down the left, overlapping with Daniel Podence to cause countless problems for the helpless Nathaniel Clyne.

He brought width to a side who were known for their love of wide play last season, but knew when he needed to come central. After 18 minutes, he drifted in to the Palace box unmarked to smash home a delightful volleyed effort with real composure.

Up until this point, Wolves haven’t had that kind of player on the left. They had it on the right with Nélson Semedo, who was also outstanding against Palace, but with two wing-backs ready to fly around and wreak havoc, Wolves were unstoppable.

This is the style of play that fans have been crying out for all season. Sure, the possession is nice to watch, but Aït-Nouri and Semedo brought drive and ambition. Wolves looked like they wanted to play football for a change, and they got the three points they so richly deserved.