Gundogan stars as 10-man Barça hold on to beat Alaves away
Fresh from a morale-boosting victory against Osasuna in midweek, Xavi’s side travelled to Vitoria-Gasteiz with a two-point cushion over Athletic Club in the top-four race.
A clash against Luis Garcia’s in-form Alaves promised to be a stern test however, and the opening stages of the contest were closely fought, with neither side able to gain control of proceedings.
Having failed to create anything of note early on, Barca gradually improved as the first half progressed, and their pressure was duly rewarded in the 22nd minute when Robert Lewandowski received a clever pass from Gundogan and dinked a sublime finish over Antonio Sivera.
Undeterred, the hosts went in pursuit of a response before half time, but Jon Guridi saw a headed effort thwarted by Inaki Pena while Samu Omorodion directed a close-range strike narrowly wide.
Grateful for those reprieves, Barca emerged after the restart on the front foot, and Xavi’s men soon doubled their lead via Gundogan, who finished emphatically from a superb Pedri delivery.
The visitors’ two-goal cushion was swiftly halved though, as Omorodion headed home from inside the box after excellent work from Alex Sola.
The end-to-end nature of the contest continued into the final half-hour, and Barca re-established their two-goal advantage when substitute Vitor Roque swept a low finish into the far corner for his second goal in as many games.
It didn’t take long for the youngster to go from hero to villain, however, as he picked up two yellow cards in the space of five minutes to leave the visitors a man light heading into the closing stages.
Despite their numerical advantage, Alaves struggled to break through a resolute Barca rearguard as the visitors held firm, consolidating their position in the top four.
The hosts, meanwhile, will be keen to bounce back against Villarreal next weekend after their three-match winning run in the league came to a disappointing end.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Ilkay Gundogan (Barcelona)
