Riqui Puig: Player Rating and Performance v Alaves
It's clearer than it ever was - Riqui Puig is now unquestionably a Barcelona starting player.
The talented 20-year-old made his fifth start in six matches in the final round of La Liga season, where Barcelona comfortably defeated Alaves 5-0, with Puig in scintillating form.
But what was Puig's overall display like?
📷 Match Snapshot
Barcelona were much more fluent here than they have been in recent weeks, though much of this must be put down to the meaningless of the occasion and forgiving nature of Alaves' play.
Alaves 0-5 Barcelona: Full Player and Match Statistics
But Puig is just here to play football and show what he is capable of, and he did this superbly, providing two assists.
A ⏱️ 33' Puig bides his time inside the area before sliding a well-timed pass into the path of Messi, who dummies the goalkeeper before slotting into the net.
Puig almost had himself another assist immediately, sliding a glorious pass through to Luis Suarez, who was in goal but blasted straight at the goalkeeper.
A ⏱️ 56' But in the second half he finally became the youngest Barcelona player to register two assists in a single game since Thiago Alcantara in 2011, slipping a simple pass into the area for Nelson Semedo to smash home.
The quality of the opposition has to be taken into account but Puig created a huge three Big Chances, and his xA of 1.52 was double that of the great man Lionel Messi.
〽️ Rating Week-on-Week
✔️ IMPROVEMENT
No Barcelona player covered themselves in glory in the humbling home defeat to Osasuna in midweek, but Puig was one of the better performers, scoring an FC Rating of 6.6 for his display.
But here he was on a different level entirely, hitting an FC Rating of 9.0.
🗝️ Key Stats
Puig match stats
| Statistic | Value | Notes |
| FC Rating | 9.0 | |
| Mins Played | 90 | |
| Touches | 69 | |
| Passes | 56 | |
| Pass Completion | 88% | |
| Assists | 2 | |
| Big Chances Created | 3 | |
| Expected Assists | 1.52 |
What Next?
Quite simply, Puig is the future and after a season of doom and gloom, he needs to be integrated into the set-up next season on a regular basis.
Barcelona don't have an option like him and with a fully-fit Frenkie de Jong next to him next season, there's still plenty of reason for encouragement that Barca can be competitive next year.
After so long the club looks like having a new regular Catalan presence in the starting XI, something the fans will be delighted about.