September 8: 5-0! 5-2! Barcelona win four straight with 17 goals to lead La Liga, Alaves take second place ahead of Real Madrid after four rounds with 10 points

September 6, La Liga Matchday 4. At Mestalla, Barcelona fans turned the away section into a home crowd; hundreds of kilometers away at Mendizorroza, Alaves supporters went wild. They watched their team climb to second place in the standings, directly behind Barcelona, with Real Madrid in third.

On one side were the defending champions, scoring 17 goals in four matches and winning three games by 5-0 margins, with the strongest attacking output among the top five European leagues; on the other side were a relegation battler who finished last season only one point above the drop zone, yet collected 10 points in four rounds and moved above Real Madrid. On the same night, dominance and a miracle appeared together.

First, Barcelona's match. Valencia set up a defensive wall at home, but Barcelona managed to break through it with precision.

In the sixth minute, Fermin Lopez chipped a pass from the right into the box, and Yamal followed with a first-time lifted finish. It was a difficult chance with a tight angle and a bouncing ball, but the 17-year-old handled it cleanly to make it 1-0. Two minutes later Yamal scored again, but VAR reviewed the play frame by frame. It was offside by the tip of his boot. There was nothing to do, but Barcelona continued. In the 22nd minute, Fermin finished himself with a low shot to make it 2-0. In stoppage time of the first half, Fermin dribbled past two players in the box and hit the post; Barcelona could have led 3-0 at halftime.

In the 50th minute of the second half, Barcelona produced a textbook counterattack. Yamal played a through ball from the right, Fermin cut it back across to the left, and Raphinha arrived to score and make it 3-0. The match was effectively over, but Barcelona did not stop. In the 79th minute, Pedri scored a low finish after a one-two combination; in the 84th minute, Dani Olmo played a through ball and Yamal blasted home for 5-0.

17 goals in four matches, averaging 4.25 per game. Who would not be surprised by that number?

Raphinha scored in four consecutive matches, netting six goals in the first four games, becoming the second Barcelona player this century to achieve that feat. The first was Lionel Messi. Fermin scored four goals in the opening four rounds; the last Spanish player to do that was Cesc Fabregas in the 2011-12 season. Gordon recorded four assists in four rounds, becoming the third La Liga player of the 21st century to do so. After this 5-0 win, Barcelona were the only unbeaten team in La Liga this season, leading with 12 points.

When I saw Fermin's first-half shot hit the post, I felt Barcelona would score at least four goals—their attacking combinations were flowing so well that every player knew where the next pass would go. This attacking system is running even more smoothly than last season, with the whole squad healthy and contributions coming from multiple players. It is extremely difficult to defend.

Looking back at the match at Mendizorroza, the script was completely different.

Last season, Alaves survived relegation with 43 points, only one point above the drop zone. Who would have expected this team to climb to second place at the start of the new season? It would have sounded unbelievable.

But Flores has built this team. In the 27th minute, Lucas Boye scored a low long-range shot from outside the box to make it 1-0. In the 36th minute, Mariano Diaz fired a long-range effort from outside the area into the corner—there was almost no reaction from the goalkeeper, making it 2-0. Alaves stunned Osasuna in the first half and looked like they were playing at a completely different level.

Just after the second half began, Budimir headed in to make it 1-2. In the 51st minute, Boye produced a spectacular strike from distance into the top corner for 3-1. In the 64th minute, Budimir won a penalty and converted it himself to make it 2-3, bringing the suspense back. But only four minutes later, Boye completed a hat-trick with a close-range header. In the 90th minute, Ibanez headed home to complete the 5-2 scoreline.

Boye became the first Alaves player in more than 20 years to score a hat-trick at home. Mariano had three goals and three assists in the first four rounds, directly contributing to six goals—the 33-year-old former Real Madrid forward had not produced such numbers across his previous 58 league appearances combined.

Ten points from four rounds, with three wins and one draw, gave Alaves their best start in La Liga history. On the sideline was 61-year-old Quique Flores, who is familiar to Chinese fans; from late 2018 to July 2019, he coached Shanghai Shenhua for seven months. At the time, many questioned whether he was past his best and unable to succeed in La Liga again. Instead, after half a season with Alaves, he took a relegation candidate straight to second place, above Real Madrid.

Big pre-match declarations? Flores said nothing. After the match, he made no bold statements either, simply standing on the sideline watching Boye celebrate surrounded by teammates and applauding twice. The 61-year-old coach understood better than anyone that after only four league rounds, it was too early to say anything. But taking this team to this position shows how much work he has done.

The standings changed overnight. Barcelona led with 12 points, Alaves were second with 10, and Real Madrid were third with nine. If someone had told you this ranking before the fourth round, you would have thought they were joking—but that is football, it never asks for permission.

Barcelona will host Levante next round on September 13. If Raphinha continues scoring, he will equal Messi's club record of scoring in five consecutive matches. Alaves will travel to face Racing Santander next—this match will reveal how far the dark horse can go.

To be fair, with Barcelona's current squad and form, there are not many La Liga teams capable of stopping them. But saying the title is already secured? No. Last season Real Madrid recovered from a significant deficit in the standings, and everyone remembers that.

How long can this Alaves dark horse run? Can they still stay in the Champions League places after 10 rounds? How long can Boye and Mariano maintain their form? Can the small Mendizorroza stadium continue to protect them? In truth, Alaves being unbeaten after four rounds also involved some luck—the match against Betis ended with a stoppage-time equalizer to earn one point—but Flores' counterattacking system is effective against mid- and lower-table teams. How long can it last? I think they can remain in the top six after at least 10 rounds.

Head to the comments and tell me: were you also like me and rubbed your eyes when you saw Alaves sitting second?

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