FC Barcelona notched a huge 2-1 comeback victory against the visiting Deportivo Alaves in their latest La Liga fixture on Sunday, November 12.
The match took place at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, serving as Barca's temporary home stadium due to ongoing renovations at the Camp Nou.
Here are three takeaways from the La Liga match:
Barcelona is still struggling with consistency
Following a remarkable resurgence in the 2022-23 season, during which they secured their first league title in four years and clinched the Supercopa de Espana after facing several challenging years, Barcelona has encountered difficulties in maintaining consistency in the current season under manager Xavi Hernandez's second full season.
Heading into the match against Alaves, the reigning La Liga champions had experienced several setbacks, enduring defeats in two of their last three games.
This included a recent loss in the high-stakes El Clasico clash against eternal rivals Real Madrid in La Liga, and a shock defeat in the hands of Ukrainian club FC Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Champions League last Tuesday, November 7.
The trend continued in Sunday's game after Alavés striker Samu Omorodion scored after a well-executed counter-attack, finding the back of the net just 20 seconds into the game.
Barcelona's defense appeared rattled throughout the first half, although they held onto the one-goal deficit by halftime.
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Robert Lewandowski is starting to get in his groove
Polish striker Robert Lewandowski has been experiencing a goal drought, having not scored in nearly two months.
The 35-year-old all-time great has failed to find the net in Barcelona's last eight games across all competitions, which included six La Liga games and three UEFA Champions League matchups. He missed three of them due to an ankle injury.
However, Lewandowski broke the goalless streak on Sunday, displaying his famous goal-scoring prowess with a crucial powerful header in the 53rd minute to level the score.
Subsequently, the striker secured the victory for Barcelona by converting a penalty in the 77th minute, capitalizing on a foul committed by Alaves center-back Abdelkabir Abqar on Barca winger Raphinha.
This game could be the start of a hot run by one of the greatest strikers of all time. Such a resurgence is crucial for Barcelona, which has been struggling to find reliable and consistent goal-scoring outlets.
Pedri's return is huge for the team
Midfielder Pedri returned to the starting 11 after being sidelined since the middle of August due to a hamstring injury.
The Spaniard played 31 minutes in the preceding game in the Champions League against Shakhtar Donetsk, coming in as a substitute in the 59th minute.
The 20-year-old played for 81 minutes in Sunday's match before being subbed off for defensive midfielder Oriol Romeu.
Despite his lack of match fitness, it was evident that the team played better with him on the field than in their previous matches, providing tactical intelligence for making the right passes.
As Pedri continues to enhance his conditioning, Barcelona is expected to witness further improvement.
La Liga title race
Following Sunday's matches, Barcelona currently occupies the third spot in the La Liga with 30 points.
They are trailing rivals Real Madrid, who has 32 points, and the unexpected leaders Girona, who have accumulated 34 points. All three teams have played 13 matches each.
Meanwhile, Alaves is now in 15th place.
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