Barcelona survive tough Alaves test thanks to Lewandowski brace
The hosts would have been feeling a strange case of Deja vu moments after the first whistle, with the Blaugrana – as they did against Granada last month – conceding after just 17 seconds.
Samu Omorodion, who was no doubt the man of the half, tapped home Javi Lopez’s cross before Barca could blink, netting his third goal since joining from none other than Granada this summer, while also netting Alaves’ fastest strike in La Liga history.
Omorodion also hit the side netting soon after, before skewing wide in a one-on-one with Marc-Andre ter Stegen. He then bullied Jules Kounde off the ball to set up another glorious chance, only to fire over.
The defender had a birthday to forget, as Xavi made him switch positions with Ronald Araujo straight after Joao Felix was comfortably Barcelona’s best player in the first period, and he had their best opportunity, seeing his long-range effort parried away by Antonio Sivera.
Kounde already looked more comfortable at right-back, and eight minutes into the second half, he delivered a delicious cross for Robert Lewandowski, who glanced his header beautifully into the bottom corner.
He then secured his brace from the penalty spot, thumping home his seventh league goal after substitute Ferran Torres was fouled by Abdel Abqar.
After losing two of their last three in all competitions before today, Barcelona would have been relieved to get back to winning ways, and their victory lifts them up to third in the table.
As for Luis Garcia's team, they were denied back-to-back top-flight victories for the first time in two years, and their personal winless run against Barça now stretches to 12 league games.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Robert Lewandowski (FC Barcelona)