Robert Lewandowski stole the spotlight for Barcelona, scoring a brilliant first-half hat-trick to secure a dominant 3-0 victory over Alaves on Sunday, keeping the Blaugrana three points ahead in the La Liga title race.
The prolific Polish striker delivered a masterclass, continuing his relentless form since arriving at Camp Nou.
Brazilian captain Raphinha, who has been pivotal for Barca in recent weeks, was once again pulling the strings in midfield.
His creativity was evident early on when he thought he had put his team ahead within four minutes, only for the goal to be disallowed as the exciting young talent, Lamine Yamal, was caught offside by the narrowest of margins in the build-up.
Barcelona faced an early setback when Ferran Torres was forced off due to injury, but that didn’t disrupt their rhythm.
Just three minutes later, in the seventh minute, Lewandowski opened the scoring with a perfectly timed glancing header from a well-delivered Raphinha free-kick.
The goal marked a significant milestone as Lewandowski netted his 50th La Liga goal in a Barcelona shirt.
Alaves struggled to contain the relentless Barca attack, and Lewandowski doubled his tally in the 22nd minute, calmly tapping in after another pinpoint assist from Raphinha.
The Brazilian’s vision and precision passes continued to wreak havoc on the Alaves defense. The third goal came just after the half-hour mark when Lewandowski, showcasing his composure, slid the ball into the bottom corner following an incisive pass from Eric Garcia.
Despite Barcelona’s dominance, Alaves managed to show flashes of resilience, with VAR ruling out a potential goal right before halftime, and they hit the woodwork shortly after the break, reminding Barca of their threat.
However, Barcelona’s defensive lapses did little to alter the course of the game, as Hansi Flick’s side remained in control.
With the match effectively wrapped up, Flick took the opportunity to rest key players, including the young Lamine Yamal, as Barcelona cruised to a comfortable win.
The victory not only solidified their position at the top of the table but also further underlined Lewandowski’s indispensable role in Barca’s pursuit of silverware this season.
