Lamine Yamal, Raphinha help Barcelona hammer Alaves to retain Liga top spot

Raphinha and Lamine Yamal have each struck twice as Barcelona have thrashed Alaves 6-1 to reclaim their La Liga lead and get back on track after two damaging defeats in the past week.

Earlier, Atletico Madrid, in second, earned a solid 2-0 win at Levante, but Barca moved two points clear of the Rojiblancos by routing the Basque visitors at Camp Nou on Saturday.

Still stinging after a Champions League defeat by Paris Saint-Germain and then last weekend’s La Liga home El Clasico loss against rivals Real Madrid, Hansi Flick’s side found their groove once more on Saturday.

Raphinha netted twice in the first half on either side of a Fermin Lopez strike, and Yamal found the net just before the interval.

The teenage winger netted again midway through the second half, and substitute Anthony Gordon chipped home Barca’s sixth before Mariano Diaz pulled one back for Alaves.

“It was a hard week for us. There was no better place than Camp Nou in front of our fans [to bounce back],” Lopez told Movistar.

“They make the difference, Lamine and Raphinha. With them, we will achieve big things.”

There was a minute of silence at the start of each of the day’s matches in memory of the 69 people killed on Wednesday in a train crash in the province of Toledo.

Barcelona host Aston Villa in the Champions League on Tuesday and travel to face Atletico next Sunday in a table-topping La Liga clash.

Alaves have now gone seven matches without a win but are 10th.

“We have to turn the page quickly,” midfielder Ander Guevara said. “We don’t need to sound the alarms. We know we’re on a bad run, but we’re a mature and humble team.”

Seventh win in a row for Atletico

Earlier in Valencia, Diego Simeone’s Atletico had temporarily climbed a point clear of the Catalan giants with goals from Alejandro Grimaldo and Giuliano Simeone against Levante.

Atletico recorded a seventh consecutive league win to continue their strong form and put pressure on the reigning champions.

“I’m very happy with the team’s work,” coach Simeone told Movistar.

“We’re very far from the end of the season. … We’ll keep going game by game.”

Alex Baena, the visitors’ main creative outlet, set up both goals as Diego Simeone recorded his 344th La Liga win at the helm of Atletico, matching the club’s record set by Luis Aragones.

“I don’t feel it much as mine, but it belongs to my players, everyone who has been with me for so many years,” said Simeone, who started coaching Atletico in 2011.

Among Sunday’s fixtures, Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid, in third, will visit Racing Santander.