Robert Lewandowski came to the rescue of FC Barcelona, scoring twice as the Catalan club rallied to beat Deportivo Alaves and keep pace with Real Madrid and Girona in the Spanish league. The 2-1 home victory on Sunday (Nov 12) moved Barcelona back within two points of second-place Madrid, which routed Valencia 5-1 on Saturday. Barca is four points behind fellow Catalan club Girona, the surprise leader that came from behind to win 2-1 at Rayo Vallecano, also on Saturday. Barcelona stayed two points in front of Atletico Madrid, which came from behind to defeat Villarreal 3-1 with a goal and an assist by Antoine Griezmann. It was the 15th straight league home win for Atletico, surpassing the run of 14 victories in a row at the Vicente Calderon Stadium between May 2012 and February 2013.
Robert Lewandowski scored twice as FC Barcelona came from behind to beat struggling Alaves in LaLiga.
Samu Omorodion's goal after 18 seconds had given the visitors a shock lead. Lewandowski headed the hosts level from Jules Kounde's cross and then scored the winner from the penalty spot after Raphinha was fouled.
The result leaves Barca third in the table, four points behind surprise leaders Girona and two adrift of second-placed Real Madrid.
Lewandowski's goals were his sixth and seventh in the Spanish top flight this season, ending a run of six games without a goal for the 35-year-old, his worst sequence at club level since February 2011 with Borussia Dortmund.
However, they masked a disjointed performance from Xavi's side, with Omorodion's goal the fastest conceded by Barcelona in a home league match this century.
The hosts, who were playing in a half-empty Barcelona Olympic Stadium, with the Nou Camp under renovation, were also fortunate not to fall further behind with Omorodion missing a glorious close-range chance to double Alaves' lead.