BARCELONA (The Thursday Times) — Raphinha and Lamine Yamal scored twice each as Barcelona thrashed Alavés 6-1 at Camp Nou on Saturday to return to the top of La Liga after two damaging defeats in a week.
Raphinha opened the scoring in the eighth minute from Fermín López’s cross after Pedri had cut through the Alavés midfield. Fermín added the second from a tight angle in the 23rd minute and set up Raphinha again in the 41st, before Yamal drilled a bouncing ball into the corner in first-half stoppage time.
Yamal got his second in the 64th minute from substitute Gabriel Jesus’s pass, and Anthony Gordon chipped in the sixth from a Rodri through ball with nine minutes left. Rodri’s giveaway three minutes later let Mariano Díaz pull one back for the visitors.
“This is what I want to see after two defeats. How we reacted, it was good and in the right way,” coach Hansi Flick said. Barcelona had lost 2-1 at home to Real Madrid in last weekend’s Clásico and 4-2 at Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. Midfielders Frenkie de Jong and Brian Fariñas started in defence, with Jules Koundé, Andreas Christensen and Eric García injured.
Barcelona have 30 points, two ahead of Atlético Madrid, who won 2-0 at Levante earlier with goals from Alejandro Grimaldo and Giuliano Simeone. It was Atlético’s seventh straight league win and Diego Simeone’s 344th La Liga victory in charge, equalling Luis Aragonés’s club record. Real Madrid, six points off the pace, visit Racing Santander on Sunday.
A minute’s silence was held before each of the day’s matches for the 69 people killed in Wednesday’s train crash in Toledo province. Barcelona host Aston Villa in the Champions League on Tuesday and visit Atlético next Sunday.
