Alavés Demolish Osasuna 5-2 in Mendizorroza Masterclass

Five goals. At home. Against a side that came into Sunday sitting 8th in La Liga with seven points and genuine belief. This was not a smash-and-grab — this was a demolition, and Mendizorroza absolutely loved every second of it. Deportivo Alavés 5-2 Osasuna is the kind of scoreline that makes fantasy football managers scramble for their lineups and wonder why they didn't back the hosts sooner. After last season's white-knuckle survival act — finishing just a single point clear of the drop with 43 points — Quique Sánchez Flores has his team playing with a completely different energy in 2026-27. Unbeaten in their first three La Liga games before today, with wins over Getafe (3-0) and Villarreal (1-0) bookending a draw at Rayo Vallecano, Alavés arrived into this fixture with real momentum. Sunday confirmed it wasn't a mirage.

Ante Budimir was the one bright spot for the visitors, bagging both Osasuna goals to take his season tally to two and earn a SAM rating of 7.7/10. Credit where it's due — the Croatian striker worked tirelessly and showed exactly why he has been Osasuna's standout performer across multiple campaigns. But two goals in a 5-2 loss tell their own story. Osasuna's defensive structure was a mess from the first whistle. With Jorge Herrando ruled out injured ahead of kickoff and Aimar Oroz also sidelined — two confirmed absentees that gutted their midfield and defensive options — the visitors were always going to be short. Even so, conceding five at this level is alarming. For a team that only survived last season on goal difference, this result stings harder than most. They sit 8th on 7 points (W2 D1 L1, GD now -1 after this battering), and their defensive numbers just took a significant hit in the context of La Liga standings.

The truth is, Alavés were simply relentless. The hosts pressed high, moved quickly, and finished with ruthless efficiency — the kind of performance that shoots up SAM ratings across the board. Going into this match, Alavés had already scored five goals and conceded just one across their first three games. They've now doubled their goal tally in a single afternoon. For fantasy football purposes, the Alavés attacking unit is now one of the most intriguing low-ownership plays in La Liga — a side that last year most people filed under "injury update watch" and "relegation concern" is suddenly the most prolific team on the Sunday slate. Compare that to the top scorer charts where Sergio Camello (Rayo) and Raphinha (Barcelona) lead on five goals apiece after four apps, and Alavés's collective contribution starts to look genuinely remarkable. Mbappé has four in four for Real Madrid, Álex Baena three for Atlético Madrid — but Alavés just went and scored five in one game, in one Sunday afternoon in Vitoria-Gasteiz.

With Valentin Rosier (SAM 8.4/10) having been flagged as a doubt in the buildup — out for over a month according to pre-match reports — and key Osasuna bodies missing through injury, Sánchez Flores's men will feel this was the perfect time to make their statement. Whether you're tracking this match report for a champions league hopeful or scouting a bundesliga-style pressing side in La Liga, Alavés is the team demanding attention right now. A clean sheet was beyond them here, but five goals at home in Matchweek 4 of la liga is the sort of form that can set a season's tone. Osasuna will need to regroup — fast — before this becomes a trend. For Alavés, Sunday was everything.