Frenkie De Jong rescued Barcelona with a late goal

Barcelona’s subpar performance would have resulted in just one point from the Alaves clash but Frenkie de Jong left the teammates stunned with his 87th-minute winner at Mendizorrotza. The three points pulls Barcelona into the fifth spot after their underwhelming performance remained the focal point in the first half of the 2021-22 campaign. Barca even cut the gap to the fourth spot to just one point as defending champions also slipped earlier.

Barca found a crucial 1-0 win as they play catchup outside of the top-four spot. The team would have a real chance to crack their way into the top four when they host Atletico Madrid at Camp Nou on February 6. During the match, Luuk de Jong came close for Barca but took too long and later Alaves' Joselu header went wide at the front post, as the deadlock remained.