Barcelona edged out Alaves 2-1 in unconvincing fashion on Sunday afternoon, having produced another performance that will have many questioning head coach Xavi Hernandez and his players.
One positive for Barcelona was Pedri, who made his first start for the club since mid-August, having been out of action for 84 days due to injury. However, he was very lucky not to avoid another lay-off, having been on the end of a strong challenge from Alaves’ Ruben Duarte.
Duarte stood on Pedri’s ankle, which Barcelona felt deserved a red card. However, the 28-year-old was only shown yellow, with VAR agreeing with the on-field decision.
❌ Está jugada no ha sido Roja. Por lo que sea
— Som I Serem FCB𓅪 (@Somhiseremfcb) November 12, 2023
Whether or not it could have been a red card for Duarte, the fortunate thing for Barcelona is that Pedri didn’t suffer an injury because of the challenge. The 20-year-old played 81 minutes, and considering he hasn’t been called up by Spain, he can now rest up over the next two weeks.
