A hat-trick from Robert Lewandowski was enough to hand Barcelona a straightforward win at Deportivo Alaves on Sunday and preserve their spot at the top of the La Liga table.

The legendary Polish striker headed in in his first in the seventh minute, connecting with Raphinha’s free-kick, before the hosts were caught out again as the Brazilian winger squared for Lewandowski to tap in.

The 36-year-old’s treble was wrapped up just after the half-hour mark when he picked up Eric Garcia’s pass and slid his finish into the opposite corner.

The win means Barca move three points clear of rivals Real Madrid at the top of the standings, responding to Los Blancos’ 2-0 victory over Villarreal on Saturday night in clinical fashion.

Alaves thought they had clawed one goal back when Antonio Martinez headed in Nahuel Tenaglia’s cross, but an offside was found by the video assistant referee and the effort was chalked off.

Pedri could have made it 4-0 at the start of the second half when he appeared on course for a tap in from Raphinha’s delivery, but the Spanish midfielder conspired to miss from point-blank range. Martinez soon hit the post for Alaves, who had another goal disallowed by VAR late on for offside once again.

Barca saw out the win in professional style, but manager Hansi Flick now has another injury to concern himself with after Ferran Torres came off in just the sixth minute. The former Manchester City winger was due to link up with the Spain squad but has already had to pull out.

Flick is already without Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Andreas Christensen, Ronald Araujo, Dani Olmo, Fermin Lopez, Gavi and Marc Bernal and has some big fixtures after the October international break to prepare for.

Their first game back sees Barca entertain Sevilla before a Champions League clash with Bayern Munich and the first Clasico of the season against Madrid.

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