Barcelona tortures Valencia and returns to the podium

Barcelona no longer had any room for error. The Catalan club, looking for a revival after four consecutive games without a victory in La Liga, had to win to stay in the race for the Champions League, occupying, before the match, 4th place with 39 points. Opposite, Valencia, in great difficulty in 19th place, was looking for crucial points to avoid relegation. With only 4 points behind the first non-relegation team, Alavés, the Valencians found themselves in a negative spiral that they hoped to stop with this match. But the Barcelona offensive armada wasted no time in striking. From the 3rd minute, Lamine Yamal combined with Fermin on the right side, before serving Frenkie de Jong, who opened the scoring with his right foot (1-0). Barely five minutes later, Ferran Torres, well placed in the area, took a cross to double the lead with an unstoppable strike at the right post (8th, 2-0).

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The Catalans did not slow down and flew through the first minutes of the match. In the 14th minute, Raphinha, alone in front of the goalkeeper, concluded the action by sending the ball into the empty goal (3-0), thus giving his team a comfortable lead. Powerless in the face of Barcelona's domination, Carlos Corberán's team could do nothing to prevent Fermín López from scoring a new goal and worsening the score to 4-0 (25th). While Valencia thought they saw a glimmer of hope with the obtaining of a precious penalty, the referee finally canceled his decision by reversing a foul by Gaya on Koundé ahead of the action (35th).

Barcelona seals victory

The Blaugranas closed this first act with the same intensity as they started it. After a shot from Raphinha was pushed back by the post, Fermín López recovered the ball and found the net with a shot into the right side of the goal (45th+4, 5-0). Returning from the locker room, Ferran Torres almost made the score worse, but his shot skimmed the crossbar (55th). Valencia, slightly better since the break, reduced the gap thanks to Diego Lopez, who served Duro perfectly in the area to deceive Szczesny (59th, 5-1). However, Lewandowski, who came on shortly after, quickly extinguished Valencia's meager hopes. On a pass from Fermin, the Pole shot Mamardashvili with an unstoppable shot (66th, 6-1).

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Tarrega, unhappy, offered Barcelona a 7th goal by deflecting a cross into his own net (74th, 7-1). A controlled victory for Barcelona, ​​which returned to the podium and moved to 3rd place in La Liga with 42 points. The Blaugranas, however, remain behind Real Madrid, leader with 49 points, and Atlético de Madrid, their runner-up. This great success offers ideal preparation before the reception of Atalanta for the last day of the group stage of the Champions League. For its part, Valencia, still 19th, continues its poor series in the championship.