Barcelona fight back to beat Alaves 3–1 in LaLiga

The victory moves last season’s champions to the top of the league table with 34 points, two ahead of Real Madrid, who will play Girona on Sunday and still have a game in hand.

This was Barcelona’s second match at the partially renovated Camp Nou after more than two years of redevelopment. The game began with an unusual scene: long ticketing delays caused by a technical issue in the club’s mobile app left thousands of fans unable to access their tickets. As a result, large sections of the stadium were empty at kickoff, with long queues forming at the fan support office.

Despite the shaky start, Barcelona settled and produced a strong performance to secure the win.

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Alaves stunned the hosts in the first minute when Pablo Ibanez struck from close range. Barcelona defender Marc Bernal misjudged a corner, allowing Ibanez to pounce on the loose ball inside the six-yard box and neatly slot it into the net with his first touch.

However, Barcelona hit back just seven minutes later. Alejandro Balde darted down the left flank before feeding Raphinha, who delivered a low cross into the box. The 18-year-old Yamal met the ball at the far post with a powerful one-touch finish into the top corner to level the score.

Raphinha was instrumental again in the 26th with another assist, this time for Olmo who expertly curled the ball home first-time from inside the box as the Blaugrana went ahead.