The flying full-back becomes hero in Copa del Rey final, and not for the first time
Football often throws up some unexpected storylines, and one of those came about in last Sunday’s Copa del Rey final between FC Barcelona and Sevilla.
Rather than one of the front three grabbing that crucial breakthrough in the tensest of finals, it was full-back Jordi Alba who got in behind the opposition defence to tuck away a goal in extra-time to send Barça on their way to the double.
With the game tied at 0-0 and with Barça down to ten men from early on after Javier Mascherano’s straight red, the Catalans had their speedy left-back to thank for a crucial strike.
But it was not the first time that Alba has come up trumps in the attacking end. It was the 27-year-old who also played a big assist to Suarez against Granada which set Barça on their way to a 3-0 win on the final day of the league season which sealed the Liga title.
Important goals
He rarely scores but, when he does, they tend to be decisive. Six out of his eight Barça goals have resulted in important wins, as listed below:
|
Season |
Competition |
Opponent |
Venue |
Result |
Jordi Alba makes it |
|
2012/13 |
Champions League |
Celtic |
Camp Nou |
2-1 |
2-1 |
|
2012/13 |
Liga |
Deportivo |
Riazor |
4-5 |
0-1 |
|
2012/13 |
Liga |
Celta |
Camp Nou |
3-1 |
3-1 |
|
2012/13 |
Copa del Rey |
Real Madrid |
Camp Nou |
1-3 |
1-3 |
|
2012/13 |
Champions League |
Milan |
Camp Nou |
4-0 |
4-0 (completes turnaround) |
|
2014/15 |
Copa del Rey |
Elche |
Camp Nou |
5-0 |
4-0 |
|
2014/15 |
Liga |
Almeria |
Juegos Mediterráneos |
|
1-2 |
|
2015/16 |
Copa del Rey |
Sevilla |
Vicente Calderón |
2-1 |
1-0 |
Click to enlarge image
Click to enlarge image
22 assists
As well as popping up with the odd goal, Alba has made no less than 22 assists across 21 games, and 20 of those ended in victory.