La Liga: Lewandowski leads Barcelona to emphatic victory

Robert Lewandowski scored a hat-trick as Barcelona thumped Deportivo Alaves 3-0 in La Liga football on Sunday at Mendizorrotza Stadium.

The veteran striker gave Barcelona the lead with a thumping header in the seventh minute, when he connected with Raphinha’s cross, before completing a deadly counter-attack to double the visitors’ advantage midway through the first half.

In ruthless pursuit of their hosts, the Catalans killed off the game with a third goal in the 32nd minute through Lewandowski, who scored the second-quickest hat-trick in Barca history — second only to Lionel Messi.

This was Lewandowski’s first hat-trick of the season and his third since moving to Barcelona in the summer of 2022.

The decorated striker has secured the match ball on 27 occasions at club level.

Emerging from Vitoria with all three points, Barca remain top of the table with 29 points, three points ahead of champions Real Madrid, who beat Villarreal 2-0 on Saturday.

After the game, Barca manager Hansi Flick expressed his satisfaction with the performance.

“We earned it going into half-time with a three-goal difference,” Flick said.

“I really appreciate what the team has done.

“It was a tough game, Alaves put pressure on us well.”

Lewandowski leads the race for the Golden Boot with 10 goals from his first nine games, four goals clear of Villarreal’s Ayoze Perez in second.

“I get good passes, so it’s easier to score goals,” the 36-year-old told the press after the game.

“We played very well from the start, with a very offensive approach.

“If you score three in the first half, you can then play in the second half with more control.”

Barcelona will return to action on October 20 after the international break, with leading sports bookmakers paying -303.03 for the hosts to beat Sevilla in La Liga.

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