Barcelona claimed a 3–1 victory over Deportivo Alavés to return, at least temporarily, to the top of LaLiga, extending their dominant run in this fixture to eight wins from their last nine meetings with the Basque club.

The match began in disastrous fashion for the hosts. Alavés stunned the Camp Nou crowd inside the opening minute when Barcelona failed to clear a corner and Marc Casado’s miskick caused chaos in the box, allowing Pablo Ibáñez to pounce and fire in the opener. The visitors nearly doubled their lead moments later as Barça continued to struggle for composure.

Barcelona eventually settled, and after Raphinha registered their first attempt on goal in the seventh minute, the equaliser arrived shortly after. The Brazilian winger burst down the left and teed up Lamine Yamal, who hammered a rising shot into the roof of the net to level the score.

As the half progressed, Barcelona established control, though Alavés remained threatening on the counter with Lucas Boyé a constant outlet. Joan García produced a miraculous save to claw away Jonny Otto’s goalbound strike while already on the ground, and Barça capitalised immediately. Racing up the other end, Dani Olmo drilled home Raphinha’s precise cut-back to complete the turnaround.

Barcelona continued to push before the interval. A long ball almost exposed the Alavés defence, but Antonio Sivera raced off his line to deny Raphinha. The hosts went even closer when a slick one-two between Robert Lewandowski and Yamal ended with the youngster striking the base of the post.

With Marcus Rashford introduced after the restart, Barça began the second half on the front foot, though Alavés’ compact five-man defence made progress difficult. Sivera produced another superb stop to deny Lewandowski’s powerful close-range header, while Yamal curled a long-range effort just over as Barcelona tightened their grip.

Clear chances continued to fall for the hosts—Olmo spurned a golden opportunity from close range—but Pedri’s entry into midfield helped pin Alavés back despite spirited involvement from former Barcelona players Denis Suárez and Carles Aleñá. The visitors mounted a couple of late surges, with Pau Cubarsí delivering a vital last-ditch tackle to stop Boyé and García smothering Jon Guridi’s attempt.

Deep into stoppage time, Alavés committed bodies forward and were punished. Barcelona launched a swift counterattack, and Olmo slid in his second of the night to seal the result.

The defeat marks Alavés’ fifth away loss of the season, with the majority of their points still coming at home. For Barcelona, a fourth consecutive league win under Hansi Flick keeps the pressure firmly on Real Madrid, who now sit two points behind but hold a game in hand.