Raphinha and Lamine Yamal Double Up as Barcelona Hit Alavés for Six

Barcelona beat Deportivo Alavés 6-1 at Spotify Camp Nou on Saturday, turning 77 percent possession into 13 shots, seven big chances and a 3.19–0.62 expected-goals advantage. Raphinha and Lamine Yamal each scored twice, Fermín López added a goal and two assists, and the home side led 4-0 by half-time before adding two more after the break.

Raphinha opened the scoring in the eighth minute, finishing left-footed from Fermín's assist. The chance carried an xG value of 0.59, the highest of the match. Fermín made it 2-0 in the 23rd, converting Lamine Yamal's pass with his right foot. Raphinha struck again in the 41st, again left-footed, again from Fermín. Lamine Yamal then made it 4-0 in first-half stoppage time, finishing left-footed from João Cancelo's assist.

Alavés set up in a 4-5-1: four at the back, five across midfield sitting deep, one centre-forward. The shape was designed to squeeze space in front of the defence and force Barcelona wide. It did not hold. Barcelona's 4-2-3-1 pushed both full-backs high, pinned Alavés's midfield five into their own third and created repeated overloads in the half-spaces. The numbers show the squeeze failing: Barcelona completed 771 passes at 93 percent accuracy, 399 of them in Alavés's half. Alavés managed 182 accurate passes at 75 percent and just 50 in Barcelona's half.

Frenkie de Jong and Pedri struggled to find clean touches against the packed midfield. De Jong was dispossessed once, completed 96.1 percent of his passes and recorded 135 touches, but the volume reflects sideways circulation rather than penetration. Pedri's 85 percent pass accuracy across 44 touches was the lowest of Barcelona's midfield starters. Brian Fariñas, on the other side of the ball, completed 97.1 percent of his passes across 114 touches for Alavés, but his rating of 7.62 reflects defensive diligence rather than control. Karim Adeyemi was dispossessed twice and managed 86.5 percent passing across 52 touches. Raphinha, by contrast, needed only 23 touches to score twice and post a 100 percent pass accuracy.

Barcelona's intensity dropped after the interval but the control did not. The home side added a fifth in the 64th minute when Lamine Yamal scored his second, left-footed, from Gabriel Jesus's assist. That goal carried an xG of 0.29, the highest-value chance of the second half.

Anthony Gordon made it 6-0 in the 81st, finishing right-footed from Rodri's assist. The goal had an xG of 0.43, Barcelona's clearest opening after the break. Alavés pulled one back in the 84th through Mariano Díaz, who finished right-footed from open play. It was Alavés's only shot on target of the second half and their third of the match.

Barcelona's 6-1 win sits alongside a 3.19–0.62 xG advantage, not above it. The home side generated 3.17 xG from open play and 0.03 from set pieces. Alavés managed 0.56 from open play and 0.05 from set pieces. Barcelona had 32 touches in the box to Alavés's 12, and seven big chances to Alavés's two. The shot count was 13–7, with seven on target for Barcelona and three for Alavés.

Raphinha led the individual numbers with two goals and 1.71 xG. Lamine Yamal scored twice from 0.73 xG. Fermín López scored once from 0.07 xG and provided two assists. Karim Adeyemi did not score from 0.25 xG. Denis Suárez did not record an xG value.

Barcelona's 14 fouls and two yellow cards were matched by Alavés's 11 fouls and three yellow cards. Barcelona won 40 duels to Alavés's 28. The home side's 77 percent possession was split almost evenly across the two halves: 76 percent in the first, 78 percent in the second.

The result moves Barcelona's goal difference further into positive territory and leaves Alavés with a defensive performance to review. Barcelona's next fixture will test whether the chance volume holds against a side that does not sit as deep. Alavés will need to find a way to turn Fariñas's passing volume into territory.