Raphinha and Lamine Yamal each struck twice as Barcelona thrashed Alaves 6-1 on Saturday to reclaim their LaLiga lead and get back on track after two damaging defeats.
Earlier, second-placed Atletico Madrid earned a solid 2-0 win at Levante, but Barcelona moved back two points clear of the Rojiblancos by routing the Basque visitors at Camp Nou.
Still stinging after a Champions League defeat by Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and then last weekend’s LaLiga home Clasico loss against rivals Real Madrid, Hansi Flick’s side found their groove once more.
Raphinha netted twice in the first half, either side of a Fermin Lopez strike, and Yamal found the net just before the interval.
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Teenage winger Yamal netted again midway through the second half and substitute Anthony Gordon chipped home Barcelona’s sixth, before Mariano Diaz pulled one back for Alaves.
Lopez said after the game: “It was a hard week for us, there was no better place than Camp Nou in front of our fans to bounce back.
“They make the difference, Lamine and Raphinha, with them we will achieve big things.”
There was a minute’s silence at the start of each of the day’s matches in memory of the 69 victims of the train crash in the province of Toledo that rocked Spain this week.
On Sunday, third placed Real Madrid visit Racing Santander among other fixtures.
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