Barcelona is back on top of the La Liga table for at least the next 24 hours after a hard-fought 3-1 win over Deportivo Alavés at the Spotify Camp Nou on Saturday afternoon.
The Blaugrana got off to a poor start, conceding in the first minute, but Raphinha returned to the starting lineup with a vengeance and played a crucial part alongside Dani Olmo as the Catalans rallied from behind to record an important home victory.
Less than a minute into the game, Alavés won a corner. Marc Bernal failed to clear and instead sent the ball right into the danger area, the move ending with Pablo Ibañez celebrating the first-ever visiting goal in the new-look Spotify Camp Nou.
Barcelona didn’t take long to respond. Alejandro Balde, as impressive as he has been in recent games, built the move that ended with a pass across the area, touched on by Raphinha, to find Lamine Yamal ready to slam in the equalizer, his fifth league goal of the campaign.
Raphinha returned to the starting lineup for the first time since his injury, and he also assisted on goal number two, expertly setting up Dani Olmo to rifle home.
Joan García’s incredible stop at point-blank range against Jonny Otto prevented Barça from falling behind again.
It could have been three when Lamine struck the post from a great position just before halftime, but Alavés also had many good chances in a vibrant first half.
Barça led at halftime, but it was far from easy against a tenacious opponent.
Alavés spent the whole of the second half preventing Barcelona from doing anything rather than creating any of their own danger.
When Barça did break through, there were chances for Robert Lewandowski, whose header was wonderfully saved by Antonio Sivera, as well as Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo to double their personal tally, but there was only one goal in the last minutes.
Joan García’s save prevented Jon Guridi from equalizing, and a VAR review could have changed the outcome.
That was just one of many instances when some hearts in Spotify Camp Nou skipped a beat, but Barça not only hung on but sealed victory once and for all in the third minute of injury time.
Lamine assisted, Dani Olmo scored, and three hard-earned points were secured. Phew!
Barcelona will face Atlético Madrid on Tuesday at 9pm CET in a game brought forward due to the two teams’ involvement in the Spanish Super Cup.
