Yamal shrugs off Chelsea setback as his heroics lift Barcelona to top spot

Barcelona player ratings vs Alaves: Lamine Yamal's back with a bang! Spaniard recovers from Stamford Bridge shocker to produce creative masterclass & send Hansi Flick's troops top of the pile

Lamine Yamal scored one and set up another as Barcelona came from behind to defeat Alaves 3-1 to rise to the top of La Liga on Saturday afternoon. Hansi Flick’s side bounced back from their Champions League defeat against Chelsea in midweek with a tight victory which saw them claim top spot ahead of Real Madrid’s trip to Girona on Sunday evening.

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In just their second match back at the renovated Camp Nou, Barcelona found themselves 1-0 down inside the first minute when midfielder Marc Casado fluffed his clearance from a corner before keeping onside Alaves’ Pablo Ibanez, who tapped home from close range. However, the hosts were level when Yamal found the back of the net from Raphinha’s excellent cutback, before the Brazil star soon set up Dani Olmo to make it 2-1 in what was an end-to-end first half.

Dominating possession without creating too many chances in a stop-start second half, Barcelona soon turned to substitute Pedri, who made his return from a leg injury sustained in October's Clasico defeat against Real. And the 23-year-old quickly made his influence count, teeing up Yamal who almost found the top left corner with an ambitious effort from distance.

Performing admirably while camped in their own half, Alaves had a couple of rare opportunities to make it 2-2 when striker Lucas Boye’s low effort forced an important block from Barcelona defender Pau Cubarsi, before goalkeeper Joan Garcia made a super stop to deny substitute Jon Guridi. However, the Blaugrana made Eduardo Coudet's visitors’ pay late on when Olmo played a lovely give-and-go with Yamal before slotting home his second of the game.