“If I play badly, I’m killed”

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Defender Jordi Alba says he gets ‘killed’ every time he plays poorly but accepts criticism comes with playing for Barcelona.

Alba helped create late winner Frenkie de Jong as Barca beat Alaves 1-0 on Sunday to move within a point of the Champions League places in La Liga.

The win helped Barca emerge from Thursday’s Copa del Rey loss to Athletic Bilbao, when Alba was hardest hit by abuse following the elimination of fans and media.

“I have felt distinguished for many years now,” Alba told Movistar when asked about the reaction to his performance at San Mames midweek. “It’s not the first time this has happened. But I accept the criticism, it will always be there.

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“If I play well, nobody talks about me. If I have a normal game, they blame me for not scoring two goals. If I play badly, I’m killed, even if I recognize that I didn’t do well played the other day.

“Nobody offered me 10 years at Barcelona, ​​but it’s always the veterans who are distinguished. It’s as if there were only veterans at Barca, not elsewhere.

“For four years they talked about veterans. I was 28 then. That’s how it is. I’m 32 now, but I still feel strong. I can have better or worse games, but I repeat that the other day I was no good.”

Coach Xavi Hernandez said the atmosphere surrounding the club was not helpful at times, suggesting some of his players are struggling to gain confidence after a difficult season.

Barca have already been knocked out of the Champions League, Spanish Supercopa and Copa del Rey, despite sitting only fifth in the league after beating Alaves on Sunday.

“Those are three golden points,” Xavi told a press conference after an 87th-minute winner at the Mendizorrotza stadium. “Only Real Madrid have won here, but we also have to play better.

“The players lack confidence, we have to get them back. They really celebrated that in the dressing room because they were criticized. The environment is not helping.

“Alba, [Sergio] Busquets, [Gerard] Pique and De Jong were all criticized but they stepped up. It’s not easy to play for Barça. The shirt here weighs 20 kg more. We are suffering right now, it will be hard, but the sun will come out.”

Jordi Alba helped create the winner of the match on Sunday but knows a draw would have once again turned the spotlight on Barcelona. Quality Sports Images/Getty Images

De Jong, who scored the winning goal after Ferran Torres took the ball away from Alba, says he can improve but feels the analysis of his form has been overdone.

“I feel good,” he told Movistar. “Now I score a goal, people will say I played well, but it’s like a lot of people don’t watch the games. It’s not like that. I can improve a lot, but [my form is] not a disaster either.”

The Dutch midfielder also said he didn’t like the reaction to the Supercopa loss to Madrid earlier this month, when Barca came from behind twice against the La Liga leaders before losing 3-2 after extra time.

“I was embarrassed that we said we were really proud after the game against Real Madrid,” he added. “It can’t be like this at Barca when you are beaten by Madrid. When you lose you always have to be disappointed.”

Barca’s victory at Alaves was their seventh consecutive away game. They return to the Camp Nou for the first time in 2022 when they host fourth-placed Atletico Madrid in a key game in the race for the top four on February 6 after a two-week break.

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