Barcelona return to winning ways with 6-1 demolition of Alaves

Barcelona responded to a difficult week in emphatic fashion, crushing Deportivo Alaves 6-1 at Camp Nou to return to winning ways in La Liga.

The victory, secured on Saturday in the 11th round of the competition, followed defeats by Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid. Barcelona had lost 4-2 to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League before suffering a 2-1 defeat by their domestic rivals.

Hansi Flick’s side produced an attacking performance that gave Alaves little opportunity to match their pace, despite the Barcelona manager being forced to make changes in defence.

Eric Garcia, Andreas Christensen and Xavi Espart were unavailable, leading Flick to use Frenkie de Jong at centre-back. Brian Farinas was also deployed on the right wing, but the alterations did not blunt Barcelona’s attacking threat as the hosts took control from the opening stages.

Raphinha opened the scoring after eight minutes. Pedri played a precise through ball to Fermin Lopez on the left, and Lopez advanced before delivering a cross which Raphinha struck first time into the net.

The roles were reversed 15 minutes later. Raphinha turned provider by setting up Fermin, who drove a powerful shot into the Alaves goal from a tight angle in the 23rd minute to double Barcelona’s advantage.

Alaves managed to withstand further pressure for a period, but Raphinha restored Barcelona’s attacking momentum by scoring his second of the night in the 41st minute. Fermin Lopez again supplied the assist with an accurate cross, underlining his influence in creating chances.

Barcelona added a fourth in first-half stoppage time when Lamine Yamal unleashed a powerful left-footed shot from the edge of the penalty area, leaving the home side with a commanding lead at the interval.

Flick replaced Pedri with Bernal at half-time, but Barcelona continued to press forward. Karim Adeyemi came close to adding another in the 54th minute after receiving an excellent pass from Fermin Lopez, but was unable to finish the chance.

Yamal then scored his second goal of the match in the 65th minute. Gabriel Jesus found him with a well-weighted pass, allowing the young forward to run through on goal before lifting a composed finish over the Alaves goalkeeper. The goal capped a highly productive display in which Yamal contributed to three goals.

Alaves eventually found a consolation goal through Mariano Diaz in the 84th minute, reducing the deficit but doing little to alter the outcome.

Flick withdrew Yamal before full-time and introduced Anthony Gordon. The substitute completed the rout two minutes later, scoring Barcelona’s sixth goal in the 86th minute to seal a decisive response to their successive defeats.