Barcelona thrash Alaves 6-1 to reclaim the La Liga lead: Raphinha and Lamine Yamal score twice each

Barcelona thrashed visitors Deportivo Alaves 6-1 on Saturday evening at Camp Nou to reclaim the top spot in La Liga, two points clear of Atletico Madrid, and return to winning ways after two defeats in a row.

Raphinha scored twice in the first half, the first in the eighth minute, while Fermin Lopez added a goal in the 23rd minute, before Lamine Yamal ended the half's scoring with a low strike from the edge of the box in stoppage time. In the second half Yamal added his second with a dink over the goalkeeper after a pass from Gabriel Jesus, substitute Anthony Gordon scored the sixth with a similar finish, and Mariano Diaz got Alaves' only goal late on.

Raphinha moved on to 15 league goals, staying top of the scoring chart. Barcelona played with Frenkie de Jong at centre-back and youngster Brian Farinas at right-back in his first start, because of a run of injuries in defence.

Atletico Madrid had briefly gone top after a 2-0 win at Levante, their seventh league win in a row. Barcelona host England's Aston Villa in the Champions League on Tuesday and then visit Atletico next Sunday in a top-of-the-table clash.

Al Majlis Analysis: The win came at the ideal moment for Hansi Flick's side, who went into the match under pressure from two painful defeats, to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League and to Real Madrid in the Clasico. The six goals did not just restore the lead; they restored confidence to an attack that looked at its best, led by Raphinha and Lamine Yamal. Still, Barcelona's real test comes next week: Aston Villa in the Champions League, then a trip to an Atletico side on seven straight league wins. Using De Jong at centre-back amid the injuries worked against Alaves, but repeating it against Atletico's attack will be a very different exam.