Barcelona bounced back from their El Clásico disappointment with a commanding 6-1 victory over visiting Alavés on Saturday evening at Spotify Camp Nou, as part of the eleventh round of La Liga.
Hansi Flick’s side returned to winning ways following their 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid in the previous round, propelled by a brilliant performance from the trio of Raphinha, Lamine Yamal, and Fermín López, who orchestrated an attacking masterclass that started early and continued into the second half.
Raphinha opened the scoring in the 8th minute off an assist from Fermín, before the latter doubled the lead in the 23rd minute, capitalizing on a pass from Yamal. Fermín then set up Raphinha’s second goal in the 41st minute, and Yamal added the fourth with a strike from outside the box in first-half stoppage time.
Fermín became only the second player to contribute to three goals in the first half of a La Liga match this season (one goal, two assists), following Moroccan Yasser El Zabiri, who scored a hat-trick against Elche. The Barcelona midfielder raised his tally to 12 goal contributions across all competitions (six goals and six assists), with only Yamal, Raphinha, and Kylian Mbappé having higher totals among La Liga players.
In the second half, Yamal completed his brace in the 64th minute following a pass from Gabriel Jesus. Substitute Anthony Gordon then scored the sixth goal in the 81st minute from a Rodri assist, before Mariano Díaz netted a consolation goal for Alavés in the 84th minute.
Yamal finished the match with two goals and an assist, marking the third time this season he has registered three goal contributions in a single match—tying Raphinha and Michael Olise for the highest total across Europe’s top five leagues. He also raised his total tally to 23 goal contributions (12 goals and 11 assists), leading all players in the top five European leagues this season.
As for Raphinha, he reached 15 goals in just ten La Liga appearances this season, the highest scoring tally among players in Europe’s top five leagues. In the 21st century, no player has scored more goals in their first ten appearances of a La Liga season except Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored 18 goals in the 2014-15 season.
The win lifted Barcelona to 30 points at the top of the table, two points clear of Atlético Madrid, having recorded ten wins and just one defeat. Meanwhile, Alavés remained on 12 points, sitting provisionally in tenth place.
Before the international break, Barcelona faces two key fixtures: hosting Aston Villa in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, November 3, before traveling to face Atlético Madrid in a marquee La Liga clash on Sunday, November 8, at the Metropolitano Stadium.
