Barcelona, Nov 1 (IANS) Raphinha struck twice, Lamine Yamal added another double, and Fermin Lopez and Anthony Gordon also got on the scoresheet as FC Barcelona swept Deportivo Alaves aside 6-1 at Camp Nou.
After consecutive defeats to Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid, FC Barcelona returned to winning ways in spectacular fashion to remain top of the La Liga.
Raphinha’s double took him to 15 league goals in just 11 games, equalling a Barca benchmark previously reached by Cesar Rodríguez and Leo Messi. Lamine Yamal, meanwhile, continued to rewrite the record books with another two goals before his 20th birthday.
The home side took control from the outset and needed just eight minutes to open the scoring. A superb outside-of-the-boot pass from Pedri released Fermin down the left, and the midfielder squared for Raphinha to finish a wonderful team move involving 15 passes and nine players.
In the 23rd minute, Fermin doubled the lead, collecting a pass from Yamal before unleashing a fierce shot from a tight angle. The visitors briefly threatened to get back into the contest when an effort struck the crossbar. Joan Garcia was also called into action to deny Protesoni.
But the closing minutes of the first half saw Fermin win possession and set up Raphinha for his second goal in the 41st minute, before Lamine Yamal made it four in stoppage time with a tremendous low strike from the edge of the area.
Adeyemi should have added a fifth after another excellent piece of play from Fermin but was fired over from close range. The fifth goal eventually arrived in the 65th minute, when Gabriel Jesus picked out Yamal behind the defence.
The youngster delicately lifted the ball over Sivera, and although the goalkeeper got a touch, it was not enough to prevent the ball crossing the line. The goal was initially ruled out for offside, but a VAR review confirmed that Lamine had timed his run perfectly.
Lamine was substituted by Anthony Gordon, who wasted little time in making his mark, latching on to a superb through ball from Rodri and producing a delightful chipped finish in the 81st minute to make it six.
Alaves grabbed a consolation three minutes later through Mariano, who capitalised on a defensive mistake, but it did little to take the shine off a commanding Barcelona performance.
–IANS
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