Boyé's Hat Trick Powers Alavés to 5-2 Rout of Osasuna at Mendizorroza

Lucas Boyé scored a hat trick as Alavés thrashed Osasuna 5-2 at Mendizorroza, in a match that got away from the Navarrese side after an even start. The result puts the Vitoria club in second place in LaLiga, just three points off the top.

The match kicked off scoreless, with Osasuna even testing the waters first as Ante Budimir gave a warning in the fifth minute. But Alavés grew into the game, and from the 26th minute on, a stretch of play decided the contest: Boyé opened the scoring with a low shot from outside the box after a headed pass from Mariano Díaz, and nine minutes later Mariano Díaz himself made it 2-0 with a similar strike, this time assisted by goalkeeper Antonio Sivera. Osasuna pulled one back right before halftime, with Budimir heading home a cross from Moi Gómez to make it 2-1 at the break.

The second half picked up right where the first had left off. Moments after play resumed, in minute 45 of the second period, Budimir struck again to make it 2-1, but Alavés answered almost immediately: in the 50th minute, Boyé scored his second goal of the afternoon with a shot into the top corner off an assist from Carles Aleñá, making it 3-1.

The penalty that wasn't enough

Osasuna had a chance to get back into the match in the 61st minute when Abde Rebbach brought down Budimir inside the box for a penalty, a foul that also earned Rebbach a yellow card. Budimir made no mistake from the spot, converting to make it 3-2 in the 63rd minute and reopening the game. But the hope was short lived: four minutes later, in the 67th minute, Boyé completed his hat trick with a header off a cross from Ángel Pérez, putting the match away at 4-2. Ángel Pérez was decisive again late on, delivering the cross that Pablo Ibáñez headed home in the 89th minute for the final 5-2.

The numbers back up what was seen on the field, though with some nuance: Alavés created more clear-cut chances and took more shots, while Osasuna had a slight edge in possession and passing.

As for the xG generated in the match (an in-house estimate based on shot location, not an official figure), Osasuna actually finished above Alavés: 1.651 to 1.506. That's a number that contrasts sharply with the final score and reflects how chaotic the match was in stretches, with both sides creating danger despite the three-goal final margin.

The result also strayed far from our pre-match projections. Beforehand we gave Alavés a 40% chance of winning, with 30% for a draw and 30% for an Osasuna win, with expected goals of 1.34 for Alavés and 1.14 for Osasuna, a combined total of 2.48. Reality ended up multiplying that figure: the two teams combined for seven goals, well above what was forecast, and Alavés didn't just win but did so by a margin that none of the three pre-match scenarios reflected in scale.

With the win, Alavés reaches 10 points from four matches played, with three wins and a draw, and moves into second place, three points behind league leaders Barcelona. Osasuna, meanwhile, stays on 7 points after two wins, a draw and a loss, seeing an afternoon cut short in which they twice pulled to within a single goal but couldn't sustain the pace set by Alavés at Mendizorroza.