Barcelona rout Alavés 6-1 to retake first place hours after Atlético moved top
Barcelona ended a two-game losing run with a 6-1 win over Alavés at Spotify Camp Nou and went back to the top of LaLiga. The result came with a patched-up defense and just before a week that brings Aston Villa and a trip to Atlético Madrid.
Barcelona answered two straight defeats with a rout of Alavés on Saturday night. The win restored Hansi Flick’s team to the top of LaLiga. Atlético Madrid had moved into first place a few hours before kickoff. The official crowd at Spotify Camp Nou was 53,523.
The losing run began with a 2-4 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain. A 1-2 loss to Real Madrid followed. Barcelona now have 10 wins and one loss from 11 league games. Atlético have won their last five. Real Madrid are third with 24 points from 10 games.
Four first-half goals settled the contest early
Raphinha opened the scoring in the 8th minute from a Fermín López pass. Fermín added the second in the 23rd minute, set up by Lamine Yamal. Raphinha struck again in the 41st minute, once more assisted by Fermín. Yamal made it four in first-half stoppage time, with João Cancelo providing the assist.
Yamal’s second came in the 64th minute, a chip over goalkeeper Antonio Sivera. It stood only after VAR overturned the assistant referee’s offside flag. Gabriel Jesus supplied the pass. Anthony Gordon scored in the 81st minute after a ball from Rodri. Mariano Díaz pulled one back for Alavés in the 84th minute.
Barcelona held 77% of the ball and completed 774 of 836 passes. They took 13 shots to 7 and produced 3.3 expected goals to 0.78. Fermín was rated 9.53. Raphinha now leads the league scoring chart with 13 goals. Yamal has 8.
A makeshift back line held without injured defenders
Several defenders were unavailable through injury. Flick said he had asked Frenkie de Jong and Fariñas whether they could play at center back. Both started in the 4-3-3. Andreas Christensen is close to returning to the squad, but the club will wait and not take risks with him.
Yamal left the pitch after 74 minutes. Before this match, he had started all 18 games played by Barcelona and Spain this season. Scoring twice made it easier to take him off, according to Flick. The coach added that the winger needed his confidence back in one-on-one situations and fewer minutes.
Alavés, who won 1-0 when the sides met on 13 May 2026, stay 10th with 12 points. They face Anaitasuna in the Copa del Rey on Tuesday, November 3. Their next league game is against Sevilla on Friday, November 6, at 21:00, the opening fixture of Matchday 12.
Barcelona host Aston Villa on Tuesday, November 3, at 21:00 local time at Spotify Camp Nou. It is Matchday 4 of the Champions League league phase. The club’s records show 33 wins, 13 draws and 10 losses in 56 games against Atlético. Barcelona play Atlético at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano at 21:00, the final game of Matchday 12.
Sources
FC Barcelona – Alavés (FC Barcelona)
Barcelona 6-1 Alavés (Oct 31, 2026) Game Analysis – ESPN (ESPN)
Crónica del FC Barcelona – Deportivo Alavés, 6-1 (Infobae (EFE))
Hansi Flick reveals 'easy' secret to Lamine Yamal substitution as Barcelona crush Alaves (Goal)
