Barcelona vs Valencia Review
Barcelona ended a streak of three consecutive home defeats in La Liga with a commanding 7-1 victory over a struggling Valencia team, scoring five of their goals in a thrilling first half. Just three minutes in, Lamine Yamal made a cut to his left and delivered a chip to the unmarked Frenkie de Jong, who skillfully controlled the ball and slotted it past Giorgi Mamardashvili. Valencia’s situation worsened just five minutes later when Alejandro Balde’s left-wing cross was volleyed in by Ferran Torres, giving Barcelona a comfortable lead.
Yamal’s backheeled nutmeg on Yarek Gasiorowski allowed Fermín López to assist Raphinha, who skillfully rounded Mamardashvili and scored the third goal into an open net. Just 10 minutes later, Pau Cubarsí sent a long ball over the top for an unmarked Fermín, who calmly finished. Valencia might feel they were unlucky not to receive a penalty as the hosts’ attacking threat diminished, but normalcy returned in first-half stoppage time when Fermín capitalized on Raphinha’s shot that hit the crossbar, scoring Barcelona’s fifth goal in four of their last five matches.
After the break, Robert Lewandowski was eager to score but had to wait for Valencia’s consolation goal, as Hugo Duro netted from Diego López’s cross, before he was brought on. It only took six minutes for Fermín to set up Lewandowski, who took the ball wide and shot across goal into the far corner. The only thing missing from Valencia’s poor defensive performance was an own goal, which came when César Tárrega deflected Torres’ cross into his own net, bringing the total to seven.
Barcelona comfortably finished the match with a 7-1 victory, during which Fermín scored two goals and provided two assists, his first goal contributions in the league this season. This decisive win ends a four-match winless streak in La Liga that had seen Barcelona drop to third place after a strong start to the season. They will be eager to face Valencia again in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals in just 11 days.