Barcelona Demolish Alaves in Dominant Display as Blaugrana Roar Back to Their Best

Barcelona bounced back emphatically with a commanding 6–1 thrashing of a helpless Alavés at the Camp Nou on Saturday.

Following a dreadful week in which Barcelona endured their first two losses of the season, Hansi Flick's squad reverted to their dominant form with a blistering first-half display that effectively sealed the contest before the break.

The home side broke the deadlock within the first 10 minutes when Fermín López set up Raphinha for an easy finish after a superb Pedri pass. López then switched from creator to scorer, doubling Barça's advantage with a thunderous strike into the far corner from a narrow angle, before once again teeing up the Brazilian to complete his double. Not to be outdone, Lamine Yamal unleashed a powerful effort from just outside the box to make it 4–0 on the stroke of halftime.

The comfortable lead gave Flick the opportunity to rotate his squad in the second half, yet Barcelona continued to control proceedings and Yamal wrapped up his brace shortly after the hour mark. Anthony Gordon came on as a substitute to add a sixth, though it was swiftly cancelled out when Mariano Díaz netted a late consolation for the away side.

The victory provides a timely confidence boost for Barcelona following a troubling El Clásico loss and re-establishes a two-point advantage over Atlético Madrid at the top of La Liga ahead of their trip to face Diego Simeone's team next weekend.

The One Thing We Can't Ignore

Not even four injured defenders watching from the stands was enough for Alejandro Balde to earn his first start of the campaign. One glance at Barcelona's starting back four makes it clear that Balde's time in a Blaugrana shirt may be running out.

Balde stepped in for the injured Xavi Espart and played the final hour of last weekend's El Clásico. While Madrid's winning goal came down his side of the pitch, Balde wasn't entirely to blame and was otherwise dependable in his longest appearance of the season.

With so many defensive absentees, most anticipated Balde would receive a sustained run in the team, but Flick had different plans. Rather than turning to Balde, the German manager fielded a back four consisting of Brian Fariñas, Pau Cubarsí, Frenkie de Jong and João Cancelo. De Jong and Cancelo are somewhat more justifiable choices, but Flick chose to hand Fariñas—a natural midfielder—his senior debut in an unfamiliar role rather than giving Balde an opportunity.

It wasn't until Cancelo picked up a yellow card in the second half that Flick finally brought on the 23-year-old left back against Alavés.

After featuring in over 40 matches in each of the previous two seasons, Balde has appeared in just four of Barcelona's 14 games to open 2026–27, accumulating barely over 100 minutes—only Fariñas and Hamza Abdelkarim among registered first-team players have logged fewer.

The La Masia product who succeeded Jordi Alba at left back and seemed destined to become a cornerstone of the side now finds himself entirely absent from Flick's thinking. It is a truly remarkable decline, and unless something changes dramatically, Balde looks set to depart the club in January or next summer at the very latest.

Barcelona Player Ratings vs. Alavés (4-2-3-1)

*Ratings Provided by FotMob*

GK: Joan García—7.0: He was rarely tested but handled every threat with composure and completed all of his passing attempts. Will be frustrated that a clean sheet slipped away late on.

RB: Brian Fariñas—7.6: An outstanding debut from the youngster. Fariñas effectively neutralized Alavés' left flank and showed confidence going forward. He misplaced only three passes across the full 90 minutes.

CB: Pau Cubarsí—7.7: Kept Lucas Boyé firmly in his pocket with an authoritative defensive performance. A much-needed response after a difficult week.

CB: Frenkie de Jong—7.1: The Dutchman made his first start of the season in an unfamiliar role and handled it admirably. He occasionally struggled in physical battles, but stepped up to block shots and win the ball back when required. Impeccable in possession.

LB: João Cancelo—7.6: A fairly understated evening for Cancelo, but he was dangerous whenever he pushed forward and provided the assist for Yamal's opening goal.

CM: Rodri—7.9: After a shaky El Clásico debut, Rodri was in complete control of the midfield on Saturday, dictating play from deep and consistently offering himself as an outlet. His excellent assist for Gordon's goal was somewhat overshadowed when he inadvertently contributed to Díaz's consolation moments later.

CM: Pedri—6.9: Produced a stunning line-breaking pass to set up Raphinha's opener and spent the remainder of the match seeking further assists with incisive through balls and clever chips.

RW: Lamine Yamal—9.4: Tormented defenders throughout and made it all look effortless. He barely seemed to break a sweat on his way to another three goal contributions. A powerful statement following his Ballon d'Or snub.

AM: Fermín López—9.2: His knack for exploiting the space left behind defenders with sharp, incisive runs remains a devastatingly effective tool. On this occasion, his relentless energy earned him three goal contributions.

LW: Karim Adeyemi—7.1: Adeyemi wasn't heavily involved, but produced a few promising runs that could have turned into assists had his teammates been more clinical. Despite squandering an easy chance, it was his strongest display since last month's international break.

ST: Raphinha—8.8: It remains remarkable just how naturally he leads the line. Two more goals for arguably the finest center forward in the world this season.

SUB: Marc Bernal (46' for Pedri)—6.8: A composed showing from Bernal, who combined well with Rodri in their first significant spell playing alongside each other.

SUB: Alejandro Balde (62' for Cancelo)—6.8: Had little impact with the game already decided by the time he entered the pitch.

SUB: Gabriel Jesus (62' for Raphinha)—7.2: Set up Yamal's second goal with his very first touch after coming on.

SUB: Anthony Gordon (74' for Yamal)—7.4: Entered the game and immediately made his mark with a well-taken goal, bursting in behind and delicately chipping the goalkeeper.

SUB: Gerard Martín (82' for De Jong)—N/A

Subs not used: Wojciech Szczęsny (GK), Dominik Livaković (GK), Álex Campos, Guillem Víctor, Ebrima Tunkara, Hamza Abdelkarim, Gavi.

What the Ratings Tell Us

The Numbers That Explain Barça's Dominant Win