La Liga Daily Report - 2026-11-02: Barcelona rout Alavés 6-1 to reclaim La Liga momentum

Barcelona defeated Alavés 6-1 at Camp Nou on Saturday, with Raphinha and Lamine Yamal scoring twice each. Fermín López also found the net as Hansi Flick’s side produced a decisive first half, with Raphinha opening the scoring in the eighth minute before López doubled the advantage. Raphinha struck again in the 41st minute and Yamal added a fourth in stoppage time. Yamal completed his brace after a VAR review in the second half, while substitute Anthony Gordon scored Barcelona’s sixth. Mariano Díaz’s late consolation could not alter a result that kept Barcelona at the top of La Liga.

The emphatic victory followed damaging defeats by Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid, giving Barcelona a strong response in front of their home supporters. The performance also restored their attacking rhythm, with the side reaching 10 wins from 11 league matches according to the match report. Defensive changes were required, with Frenkie de Jong deployed at centre-back and Brian Farinas making his first start at right-back amid injuries. Barcelona now carry that renewed confidence into their Champions League meeting with Aston Villa before a significant league fixture against Atlético Madrid at the weekend.

Real Madrid defeated Racing Santander 3-0 at El Sardinero at the weekend, scoring all three goals before half-time. Kylian Mbappé opened the scoring from the penalty spot after Matteo Prati brought him down, although the decision was disputed by Racing manager José Alberto. Jude Bellingham then doubled the lead after Arda Güler played him through, allowing the England midfielder to round the goalkeeper and finish into an empty net. Yan Diomande completed the first-half burst with a spectacular volley. The result extended Real Madrid’s winning sequence to six matches in all competitions and kept them within three points of Barcelona.

The penalty remained the main talking point after the final whistle. José Alberto argued that the contact on Mbappé was insufficient and questioned why VAR did not ask the referee to review the incident, while a separate Racing penalty appeal was overturned after a review. Real’s victory nevertheless underlined their improvement under José Mourinho, who said the players were increasingly understanding his football philosophy. Mbappé also scored against his 24th different La Liga opponent, while the match marked Real’s 601st awarded penalty in the competition according to Mundo Deportivo, as cited by Yahoo Sports.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV did not air Real Madrid’s match against Racing Santander at the weekend, despite Kylian Mbappé having apologised for remarks about a meme resembling former Chinese leader Mao Zedong. The omission continued a suspension of La Liga coverage that began after Mbappé described the meme as showing “some guy, think he’s a Chinese dictator” during an appearance on the French programme The Bridge. China Media Group had demanded apologies from Mbappé, Real Madrid and La Liga before talks could resume, and the player, club and league subsequently apologised for the offence caused.

La Liga president Javier Tebas said on Monday that he was maintaining dialogue with Chinese authorities in Madrid and Beijing in an effort to ease the dispute. CCTV’s decision meant that no La Liga match was shown on the broadcaster during the weekend, while reports also said the Real Madrid fixture was unavailable on Chinese pay television and digital platforms. The episode has widened beyond an individual player’s comment, affecting the league’s access to a major broadcast market and prompting the suspension of Chinese advertising campaigns involving Mbappé. Tebas said the parties would wait for tensions to settle while continuing discussions.

La Liga president Javier Tebas accused Real Madrid on Monday of prolonging the Negreira case to damage Barcelona. Speaking to reporters, Tebas said the club was “stretching the Negreira case like chewing gum” and objected to what he described as constant attacks on Barcelona and referees. The case concerns payments made by Barcelona to José María Enríquez Negreira, the former president of the refereeing committee, and remains under investigation by Spanish courts. Tebas said Barcelona would have to accept responsibility if necessary, but argued that the club could not currently be blamed for wrongdoing or sporting corruption.

Tebas linked Real Madrid’s campaign against Barcelona to the Catalan club’s departure from the Super League project, saying the capital club’s position appeared to have changed afterwards. He also said La Liga had approached prosecutors before Real Madrid did and referred to the involvement of Real Madrid’s president in the club’s governance after the issue emerged. The comments deepen an already public dispute between Tebas and Real Madrid, while the legal process continues. The row is likely to remain a prominent feature of the Spanish football conversation alongside the title race.

Hansi Flick said on Monday that Barcelona would focus fully on Aston Villa ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League meeting at Camp Nou. The Barcelona manager described Unai Emery’s team as “fantastic” and praised Emery as one of the best coaches in Europe, while rejecting any suggestion that his side would take the visitors lightly. Flick’s comments came after Barcelona had lost to Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid before responding with a 6-1 victory over Alavés. The European fixture therefore followed a sharp change in domestic momentum, but the manager insisted each match required its own preparation.

Barcelona’s recent defeats had prompted questions about whether Flick’s team could beat the strongest opponents, making the Villa match an important test beyond the league campaign. Flick said the scorelines against Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid had not fully reflected the balance of those games and maintained his belief in the squad. Anthony Gordon also spoke positively about Emery and assessed his own Barcelona start at 7.5 out of 10, while saying he could offer more. The club’s immediate priority was the Champions League before attention returned to Atlético Madrid in La Liga.