Flick pleased to see Yamal recover confidence after Clasico miss

Hansi Flick was pleased to see Lamine Yamal recover some confidence with a brace in Barcelona's 6-1 rout of Alaves, after he misfired in last week's Clasico.

Yamal joined Raphinha in netting twice as Barca blew their opponents away at Camp Nou, with Fermin Lopez and Anthony Gordon also getting on the scoresheet.

It was the eighth instance of the Blaugrana scoring four goals in the first half of a game under Flick, across all competitions. That is three more occasions than any other team from Europe's top five leagues since the German took the reins in 2024.

Before his double, Yamal assisted Fermin for Barca's second goal, marking the fifth time he has registered three goal involvements in a single game for the club, with each of those coming in 2026 (three this season).

It was a welcome return to form for the World Cup-winning winger, who had struggled to make his mark during Barca's 2-1 defeat to arch-rivals Real Madrid six days earlier. 

During the first Clasico of the campaign, Yamal missed a simple one-on-one chance and failed to hit the target with any of his five shots.

While Flick was relieved to see Yamal find his shooting boots, he also acknowledged there was a need to manage his minutes, having withdrawn him in the 74th minute.

"When you score two goals, it's easier to go off," Flick told reporters afterwards.

"I spoke with him at half-time. For us, it's good that he has his confidence back, with the one-v-one situations, with more time and minutes in the second half.

"But it's also important he plays fewer minutes sometimes."

Yamal has now been involved in 23 goals in all competitions this season (12 goals, 11 assists), more than any other player from Europe's top five leagues. 

The next player on that list is his team-mate Raphinha, who has 20 direct goal contributions (17 goals, three assists) following his own double.

Barca's victory also brought up a landmark for Flick, who has now overseen 100 wins in charge of the Catalan giants in 131 matches. 

Only Luis Enrique (126 games) has reached a century of wins quicker with the club, with Pep Guardiola needing eight games more than Flick.

Asked to name his favourite victory in charge of the Blaugrana, Flick could not look past his very first Clasico – a 4-0 thrashing of Madrid at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in October 2024.

"It's great to get to that number," he said. "But of all the wins... perhaps the victory in the first Clasico!"

Barca, who are back on top in LaLiga, two points clear of Atletico Madrid, face Diego Simeone's side next time out in the league, on November 8.

Before then, Aston Villa visit Camp Nou on matchday four in the Champions League.