ANALYSIS: LAMINE YAMAL AND DANI OLMO DELIVER AGAINST TOUGH ALAVES OPPOSITION
Barcelona overcame an early scare to defeat Alaves 3-1. Teen star Lamine Yamal and a Dani Olmo brace sealed the comeback win on the club's 126th anniversary.
After Pablo Ibanez surprised everyone with an early goal, Barca answered back thanks to their young star, Lamine Yamal, with an assist from Raphinha, who was back in action.
Olmo put Barca ahead in the first half and then scored again late in the game, securing their win in their second game back at Camp Nou, which is still being rebuilt.
Barca's 126th birthday celebrations weren't as lively as usual after Chelsea beat them 3-0 in the Champions League earlier in the week.
Ronald Araujo and Frenkie de Jong were out, and Jules Kounde started on the bench after scoring an own goal at Stamford Bridge.
Flick put Raphinha, the Brazilian winger, in the starting lineup for the first time since his injury. He also brought Marc Bernal back into midfield for his first start for Barca since August 2024, after he recovered from knee surgery.
Last weekend, Barcelona easily won 4-0 against Athletic Bilbao in their first game back home. However, Alaves put up a much tougher fight.
Alaves got an early lead when Ibanez scored after Marc Casado failed to clear a corner, and Victor Parada passed the ball back toward the goal.
Flick's team quickly responded when Yamal powerfully shot the ball into the net after Raphinha's low cross found him. Dani Olmo also tried to hit the ball but missed.
Barca's goalie, Joan Garcia, made an amazing save to stop Calebe just before Barca took the lead.
Raphinha was involved in the goal again, passing the ball back for Olmo, who shot it into the near post.
Yamal almost increased Barca's lead, but his shot hit the post after he got past Antonio Sivera.
Lucas Boye almost made Yamal pay for his miss, but his shot went just wide before halftime.
Barca's playmaker, Pedri Gonzalez, also came back from injury as a substitute in the second half, and the 45,000 fans in the stands cheered loudly.
Yamal's shot from the edge of the box went just wide, and Olmo's shot rolled past the post as Barca struggled to finish the game.
Alaves almost tied the score through Boye, but Barca's defender, Pau Cubarsi, made a critical block to stop them.
Finally, Olmo scored the third goal in stoppage time, beating Sivera after a great setup from Yamal.
TACTICAL FREEDOM: WHY BARCELONA’S SYSTEM UNLOCKED THE RASHFORD MANCHESTER UNITED NEVER TRULY SAW
Marcus Rashford has revitalised his career at Barcelona with 23 goal involvements, but United legend Bryan Robson remains critical.
Marcus Rashford is lighting things up at Barcelona right now. On loan from Manchester United, he’s helped push them to the top of La Liga and into the Champions League knockouts. It’s a huge turnaround for him, but back in Manchester, not everyone’s happy about it. United legend Bryan Robson, for one, isn’t holding back with his criticism. Barcelona want to keep Rashford beyond this season, and honestly, it’s easy to see why.
A fresh start, a new Rashford
Since moving to Barcelona in the summer of 2025, Rashford has completely turned his career around. Things were rough for him in Manchester – so much pressure, so much scrutiny – but now, at 28, he looks like a different player. He’s scored 10 goals and set up 13 more in 35 games. He’s flying down the left wing, linking up with his teammates, and just looks alive again. Those performances have been crucial for Barcelona, who’ve climbed to the top of La Liga and made it into the Champions League last 16. He’s been decisive in Europe, too, racking up nine goal contributions in just eight games.
Naturally, people are looking back at his time at Old Trafford and wondering what went wrong. Before moving to Spain, Rashford seemed weighed down by expectations at United. Fans are happy to see him enjoying football again, but it’s tough not to ask: Why couldn’t he play like this in the Premier League? Why did his energy and confidence disappear back home?
Robson’s not impressed.
Bryan Robson, United’s old captain, isn’t buying into the Rashford revival. He’s puzzled by the sudden change. Speaking to BOYLE Sports, Robson said, “Marcus Rashford, as a player, I can’t understand it. When you’re at Manchester United, and everyone says he’s lost his confidence, and then he goes and enjoys his football somewhere else… If you can’t enjoy your football at Manchester United, there’s something wrong with you.”
Robson also doesn’t think bringing Rashford back to United would be simple. There’s more competition now, and he wonders how Rashford’s attitude would fit in. “I’m just not sure I’d bring Marcus back in. The lads might ask about his attitude,” Robson admitted. “Right now, United have Amad Diallo, Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha, and Mason Mount. When he’s fit, he’s top class. Patrick Dorgu’s been great too, though he got unlucky with an injury.”
Carrick’s got United rolling.
While Rashford’s been making headlines in Spain, Michael Carrick has quietly improved things at United. He’s shored up the defence and made the team tough to break down, but they can also hit on the counter or play against deep blocks. United are unbeaten in six matches under Carrick (five wins and one draw), and they’ve beaten Arsenal and City along the way.
Robson commented on Carrick’s tactics, saying, “I don’t think Michael is just building a counter-attacking team. It really depends on who they’re playing. Sometimes the opposition sits deep, and you have to be careful not to get caught yourself. Michael’s managed that really well lately.”
He pointed to the Everton game as an example. “Against Everton, United were solid. They showed real fight. Everton kept putting corners right under the bar, but Maguire, Yoro, Casemiro, and Lammens handled it brilliantly. Everton didn’t threaten beyond those corners. The goal that won it was fantastic, but what stood out to me was the determination not to concede.”
Big decisions ahead
With spring approaching, Rashford’s in for a huge test at Barcelona. The Champions League knockouts will show if he can keep delivering against the best. At the same time, United have some big choices to make about their attack, and for Rashford, his future’s still up in the air.
MASTERCLASS AT 18: MAPPING LAMINE YAMAL’S JOURNEY TO HIS FIRST CAREER HAT-TRICK
Barcelona 4-1 Villarreal: Lamine Yamal scores three as Flick celebrates his century. See the goals that kept the home record perfect.
Lamine Yamal grabbed his first career hat trick, lighting up Barcelona’s 4-1 win over Villarreal and making Hansi Flick’s 100th game in charge one to remember.
Yamal’s three goals pushed his league total to 13 for the season. Robert Lewandowski finished things off with an easy tap-in during stoppage time.
Villarreal, sitting third in the table, got a bit of hope right after halftime when Papa Gueye scored to make it 2-1 at Camp Nou. But honestly, Barcelona never looked rattled. They kept their perfect home record in LaLiga and pulled four points clear of Real Madrid, though to be fair, Madrid still have a game in hand, at home against Getafe on Monday.
Before kickoff, people were talking about Flick hitting 100 matches. The former Germany boss called it “a great honour", but once the game started, Yamal stole the show. The 18-year-old winger just tore Villarreal apart.
Barcelona started a bit slow. Their first real chance came when Fermín López had a shot blocked. Villarreal seemed happy to sit back and look for chances on the break, and honestly, that almost worked. One quick counter nearly caught Barcelona’s defence, but Sergi Cardona’s cross was cut out just in time.
Jules Koundé had a wild miss after Barcelona’s best bit of play, and the pressure kept building. Luiz Júnior had to deal with a shot from Yamal as the home side pushed forward.
After 28 minutes, Yamal finally broke through, ending a brief three-game dry spell after scoring in five straight matches. Gueye lost the ball near midfield, López sent Yamal racing away, and he finished left-footed, cool as you like.
A few minutes later, Yamal pulled off something special. Hugging the touchline, he wriggled inside, faked out Cardona, glided past Moleiro, and bent a shot into the top corner from 14 yards. Just electric.
Villarreal tried to answer. Ayoze Pérez stretched to reach a Nicolas Pépé cross but sent it wide. Still, Barcelona looked dangerous every time they attacked. Raphinha forced a save from Luiz Junior with a free-kick, and Koundé found the net, but the flag went up for offside.
Yamal missed a golden chance for his hat trick just before halftime. Then, four minutes into the second half, Villarreal got back in it almost out of nowhere. Santiago Mouriño flicked on a corner, Raphinha kept Gueye onside, and Gueye finished smoothly.
Barcelona had a scare when Joan García charged out of his goal for no real reason, leaving the net wide open. Pérez tried his luck from 30 yards, but the shot drifted wide.
Yamal kept pushing and fired another shot wide, but he wasn’t going to be denied. In the 69th minute, Pedri, fresh off the bench, set him up, and Yamal hammered in his third.
Lewandowski wrapped it up late, turning in a Koundé cross. The flag went up again, but after a VAR check, the goal stood. That was that: Barcelona cruised home, Flick got his milestone, and Yamal had a night to remember.
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