Alavés 0-3 FC Barcelona: Fast forward

FC Barcelona have bounced back brilliantly from last week’s defeat at Osasuna by cruising to a comfortable 3-0 win at Alavés this Sunday, with all three goals coming in the first half hour, and all of them courtesy of the same man, Robert Lewandowski.

The win restores the 3-point lead over Real Madrid at the top of table, with no more league football for a fortnight as we head into the latest international break.

Lewandowski 1-2-3

This was a day on which Barça were in no mood for dallying. Before the game was five minutes old, Raphinha had already had a goal disallowed for offside before floating a free kick into the area for Lewandowski to begin his three-goal spree by confidently heading home.

In the 22nd minute, the Brazilian-Polish tandem did it again. Raphinha, who seems to be getting better with every game under Hansi Flick, whooshed down the left wing and swung in the perfect cross for Lewy to double Barça’s lead.

Already a dream start, and we didn’t have long to wait before it got even better. Eric García, a very early replacement for the injured Ferran Torres, slipped the ball through the Alavés defence and there was Lewandowski ready to complete his hat-trick with an hour of football to spare.

Just nine games into the Liga season and his goal count is already into double figures!

Alavés battle in vain

Barça were making the job look easy, but nobody had won at Mendizorrotza since April. Toni Martínez did a particularly good job of reminding us why, having one goal narrowly chalked off for offside and also hitting Iñaki Peña’s post.

In fact, as Alavés worked their way more into the game, they had more than enough opportunities to salvage what might have looked like a lost cause. Thankfully, poor finishing and solid Barça defending meant none of those chances came to anything.

The spark had certainly gone out of a Barça side that had clearly already done more enough to win the game. But it was re-ignited when Ansu Fati entered the fray. The youngster was denied the first goal since his return from injury by both the woodwork and some impressive goalkeeping from Antonio Sivera.

Ultimately, this was a game that was already over after the first half hour, and the remainder often felt like little more than an epilogue. Not only did Barça take their chances, but they took them early, and without Culers having to worry too much about their nerves, that’s another three points in the bag!

Next up, it’s Sevilla at the Estadi Olimpic. That’s a 9pm CEST start on Sunday 20 October. Bring it on!