Barcelona After Two Straight Defeats: Why the Alaves Match Matters More Than It Looks
Photo by Hüseyin KARACA on Pexels (Pexels photo ID 36227922). This is a free stock illustration, not actual match footage. Source photo: https://www.pexels.com/photo/scenic-soccer-stadium-with-spectators-at-sunset-36227922/
Barcelona arrive at the weekend carrying something unfamiliar for a side sitting top of the league: back-to-back defeats and a few uncomfortable questions. A 4-2 loss away to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League was followed by a 2-1 home defeat to Real Madrid in the Clasico, and suddenly a season that had started with eleven straight wins in all competitions has a different texture. The next match, at home to Alaves, is not a glamour fixture, but it is exactly the kind of game that shows whether a team can reset.
The most encouraging sign for Barcelona, according to coach Hansi Flick, is the reaction of Lamine Yamal. The 19-year-old winger finished third in the 2026 Ballon d'Or vote, behind winner Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe, despite winning La Liga with Barcelona and the World Cup with Spain. Flick said on Friday that Yamal had reacted very well, had been focused in training, and had shown the mentality his team needs. That matters, because a young star's response to disappointment often sets the tone for the dressing room around him.
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Flick was also clear that Kane deserved the award, while repeating his own view that Yamal belongs at that level. Yamal did not leave the gala empty-handed, taking the Kopa Trophy for the best male player under 21 for a third straight year. The challenge now is to turn individual recognition into collective rhythm again. Barcelona still hold a two-point lead at the top of La Liga, so the table has not turned against them; the risk is psychological, not mathematical.
Injuries complicate the picture. Flick noted that several defenders are unavailable, including Jules Kounde and Andreas Christensen, along with midfielder Dani Olmo, which may force creative solutions at the back. A makeshift defence against a motivated Alaves side is a genuine test of organisation, not just talent. If Barcelona win cleanly, the two defeats start to look like a blip. If they stumble again, the conversation around this young team will get louder very quickly.
That is why this match matters more than its place in the fixture list suggests. Great teams are rarely defined by how they play when everything is flowing; they are defined by the first game after the flow stops. For Barcelona, and for Yamal in particular, Alaves is a chance to show that the response Flick praised in training can survive ninety minutes under pressure.
Source: theScore, "Flick praises Yamal's 'mentality' after Ballon d'Or" (30 October 2026) — https://www.thescore.com/news/3639401/flick-praises-yamals-mentality-after-ballon-d-or-disappointment
