La Liga: Olmo nets brace as Barcelona beat Alaves

Dani Olmo scored twice on Saturday as Barcelona came from behind to beat Alaves 3-1 at the Camp Nou, sending the Catalans temporarily to the top of La Liga.

Alaves stunned the home crowd after just one minute when Pablo Ibanez pounced on a loose ball from a corner and fired past Joan Garcia. But Barcelona quickly responded, with teenage sensation Lamine Yamal smashing into the roof of the net from a Raphinha assist.

Olmo put Barcelona ahead midway through the first half, drilling home another Raphinha cutback. The Spaniard then wrapped up the win in stoppage time after brilliant work from Yamal.

The victory lifts Barcelona two points clear of Real Madrid, who face Girona on Sunday.

Barca came into the match on the back of a painful 3-0 Champions League defeat to Chelsea, and without key players Ronald Araujo and Frenkie de Jong. Coach Hansi Flick also benched Jules Kounde following his own goal at Stamford Bridge.

aphinha returned to the starting lineup after injury and delivered two assists, while 17-year-old midfielder Marc Bernal earned his first start since August 2024 after recovering from knee surgery.

Alaves pushed hard and could have equalised when Lucas Boye fired narrowly wide, while Barca’s Yamal struck the upright after rounding the goalkeeper.

Pedri also made a welcome return from injury, receiving a huge ovation from the 45,000 fans inside the partially reopened Camp Nou.

Barca were made to work for the win, with defender Pau Cubarsi producing a crucial late block to deny Boye before Olmo sealed the result.

“It’s a dream to play here and help the team win,” Olmo told DAZN after the match.

Alaves defender Jonny Otto admitted the visitors pushed Barcelona to the limit. “We had our chances. It’s not easy to make Barca ask for the final whistle,” he said.