Barcelona roared back to winning ways in La Liga in spectacular fashion with a 7-1 demolition job against struggling Valencia at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Sunday night.
A free-scoring La Blaugrana, who were winless in the league since December 3 and had only taken maximum points from one of their previous eight top-flight games, showed no sign of the form that had seen them rapidly slump from champions-elect to third in the table, racing into a 5-0 lead before half time as they put their relegation-threatened visitors to the sword in brutal, ruthless fashion.
Barca wasted no time and seized control of the game with just three minutes on the clock courtesy of a Frenkie de Jong strike, before Ferran Torres netted a second on the eight-minute mark.
It was clear by that point that Los Ches were in for a tough night, and the feeling was confirmed when Raphinha - who has been a standout for Hansi Flick's resurgent Barca this season - followed up with a third with less than a quarter of an hour played.
Perhaps the most distinctive characteristic of Flick's tenure at Barcelona has been his use of young players, and La Masia's produce once again combined to deliver the goods when centre-back Pau Cubarsi assisted midfielder Fermin Lopez for the hosts' fourth.
The visitors were given a glimmer of hope when Wojciech Szczesny was shown a yellow card for what they deemed a sure penalty, but a VAR review decided against awarding a spot kick, and Lopez made it five with his second of the game just before the interval.
Valencia's Hugo Duro scored a consolation goal early in the second half, but it did little to dampen the blow of such a humiliating scoreline, and the visitors even failed to win the second half when substitute Robert Lewandowski added a sixth with 25 minutes to play, and centre-back Cesar Tarrega scored an own goal late on.
SPORTS MOLE'S VERDICT
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Barcelona continue to blow teams away with the intensity and relentlessness of their attack under Flick, and Valencia are just the latest in a long list of victims this season.
The Catalan giants' reliance on youth may come with an inherent lack of experience, and they could miss out on the La Liga title this season given they are in third place behind Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid, but their future - on the pitch at least - seems exceptionally bright.
Carlos Corberan's struggling Valencia came into Sunday's clash hoping to extend their four-game unbeaten streak, but their dreams came tumbling down when the hosts raced into a five-goal lead before half time.
Though the relegation candidates should not be too disheartened with the result, they will be disappointed with the embarrassing nature of such an extreme scoreline, and the prospect of dropping into the second tier for the first time in almost 40 years remains very real, with Los Ches four points behind 17th-placed Deportivo Alaves.
BARCELONA VS. VALENCIA HIGHLIGHTS
3rd min: Barcelona 1-0 Valencia (Frenkie de Jong)
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Assisted by Lamine Yamal, Frenkie de Jong fires Barcelona into an early lead with a fine finish into the bottom left corner!
8th min: Barcelona 2-0 Valencia (Ferran Torres)
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Ferran Torres receives the ball from Alejandro Balde before finding the bottom right corner to double the lead!
14th min: Barcelona 3-0 Valencia (Raphinha)
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Barcelona's star man, Raphinha, is played in by Fermin Lopez and Giorgio Mamardashvili is unable to stop his effort from the right-hand side of the box.
24th min: Barcelona 4-0 Valencia (Fermin Lopez)
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Two of Barcelona's academy graduates combine to give the hosts a four-goal lead with just over one quarter of the match played!
Centre-back Pau Cubarsi plays a through ball to midfielder Fermin Lopez, who strikes the ball high into the back of the net.
45+4 min: Barcelona 5-0 Valencia (Fermin Lopez)
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The 21-year-old makes it five by scoring the rebound from Raphinha's crossbar rattler, and his brace has made the scoreline embarrassing reading for the visitors.
59th min: Barcelona 5-1 Valencia (Hugo Duro)
The Valencia striker pulls one back with a fine finish into the top left corner, but it is surely just a consolation at this point.
66th min: Barcelona 6-1 Valencia (Robert Lewandowski)
The veteran striker is off the bench to score his side's sixth of the game with a trademark shot across the goalkeeper.
75th min: Barcelona 7-1 Valencia (Cesar Tarrega OG)
Almost as if to add insult to injury, Valencia centre-back Cesar Tarrega has sent the ball beyond Mamardashvili and into the back of his own net.
MAN OF THE MATCH - FERMIN LOPEZ
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Hansi Flick's Barcelona have been underpinned by La Masia talent, and the same can be said of their performance today.
Lopez's two goals and one assist before half time helped to make the second period a formality, and his second assist for Lewandowski topped off a fine display that took Barca three points closer to their rivals in the Spanish capital.
BARCELONA VS. VALENCIA MATCH STATS
Possession: Barcelona 72%-28% Valencia
Shots: Barcelona 22-7 Valencia
Shots on target: Barcelona 11-2 Valencia
Corners: Barcelona 14-4 Valencia
Fouls: Barcelona 10-12 Valencia
BEST STATS
🔟 | PERFECTION
— Sofascore Football (@SofascoreINT) January 26, 2025
Fermín López v Valencia:
👌 87 touches
⚽️ 2 goals
🎯 2 shots (1.43 xG)
🅰️ 2 assists
🔑 3 key passes
👟 57/65 accurate passes (0.21 xA)
💨 4/5 successful dribbles
⚔️ 8/16 duels won
📈 10 Sofascore Rating
A magical performance by Barcelona's magical talent! 💎🇪🇸... pic.twitter.com/kD9QEJN70Y
⚠️ | QUICK STAT
— Sofascore Football (@SofascoreINT) January 26, 2025
Barcelona among all 96 teams in Europe's top 5 leagues this season:
• Most goals (59)
• Most xG accumulated (54.59)
• Most non-penalty goals (56)
• Most non-penalty xG accumulated (51.44)
• Joint-most big chances (100)
Hansi Flick's attacking machine means... pic.twitter.com/xfiNcYr4pX
WHAT NEXT?
Barcelona will try to make it eight games unbeaten across all competitions when they face Atalanta in their final Champions League group stage game, while Valencia will host Celta Vigo in La Liga on February 2, hoping to pick up some desperately needed points.
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