BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Rafinha scored two early goals and Dani Olmo scored twice as Barcelona fought back to beat Alaves 3-1 in La Liga on Saturday after a disappointing Champions League loss to Chelsea.
Lamine Yamal also showed an exciting performance, shaking off Barcelona’s attacks. Lost 3-0 at Stamford Bridge In midweek, he didn’t display his usual attacking flair. The 18-year-old star scored Barcelona’s equalizer and twice came close to adding to the score against Alaves, including hitting the post late in the first half.
Rafina twice ran behind the defense on the left side of the area, and in the 8th minute and 26th minute, he combined passes with Yamal and Olmo to score the goal.
Olmo added a third goal in stoppage time, scoring from a one-two passing combination with Yamal.
Rafinha returns to 11th place
key player of Double domestic title for Barcelona Last season, Raphinha showed his former sharpness in his first start in two months after recovering from injury at Camp Nou. right hamstring injury. He only had limited minutes in last weekend’s game against Athletic Bilbao, and came on as a late substitute against Chelsea before manager Hansi Flick started him.
Flick praised Rafinha’s efforts in attack and defense, especially his pressing which was contagious to his teammates.
“Rafa (Rafinha) is a dynamic player,” Flick said. “We missed him.”
Barcelona’s fourth consecutive win in La Liga puts them two points behind leaders Real Madrid, who will visit Girona on Sunday.
Rafinha said the team can still improve.
“Flick believes we are not playing our best and I agree with that,” Rafinha said. “Still, what was important today was that we got the win. We know we’re not at our best, but we’re working on it and I’m sure we’ll get back to our best this season.”
Barcelona gained momentum Pedri González’s return After spending a month without their top playmaker.
Pedri came on for Rafinha with 30 minutes remaining. The Spanish midfielder has been out for a month with a muscle injury in his left leg.
Yamal’s shot into the top of the goal canceled out Pablo Ibanez’s early goal when Barcelona failed to defend Alaves’ corner kick and the attacking midfielder fired from close range.
Alaves, who have struggled to score all season, turned out to be far more dangerous than expected. With the score at 1-1, Barcelona goalkeeper João Garcia had to put his body forward to block Kalebe’s shot.
other places
Mallorca striker Vedat Muriqui scored twice, but Osasuna scored twice late on to earn a 2-2 draw in the Balearic Islands.
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