Barcelona finished third in the La Liga table over the weekend, trailing the leaders by seven points after smashing Valencia 7-1 at the Montjuïc Olympic Stadium on Sunday evening. The victory was shaped by an electrifying opening-half performance, with a couple of extras thrown in the second for full effect. The win was particularly welcome because it ended an embarrassing sequence of bad results for Barça in the league.
That first half was surely a hard act to follow for Barça: the Blaugrana turned on the gas early in the game as Frenkie de Jong, Ferran Torres, and Raphinha all found the net within a short span of 15 minutes.
Barça started so well that they didn’t have to get out of second gear for the rest of the period but still managed a fourth goal due to a sensational pass from Pau Cubarsí from the back, and a good finish from Fermín López.
He has already been thoroughly fouled by José Gayà and play is allowed to go on, but Valencia go on the counter and Hugo Duro is played through on goal before Wojciech Szczesny takes him out inside the box and the referee points to the spot.
After a VAR check the original foul by Gayà is given and the penalty is taken away.
They continued to push, looking for a closing goal before the half-time break, which they not certainly managed through an unbelievable through-ball from Lamine Yamal to find Raphinha, who smacked against the post before Fermín slotted the rebound home, doubling his tally and giving Barça a five-goal lead at the half time.
For the first hour, the Blaugrana were able to keep their goal unscathed, but by way of consolation, Hugo Duro finished off a move he would have easily completed with a cross from Diego López inside the six-yard area.
From the bench, Robert Lewandowski unleashed a shot that belted into the net and joined in the scoring.
César Tárrega suffered an own goal, where he accidentally kicked the ball into his own goal after an unsuccessful attempt to clear it, and Barca had a lead with 7-1 goals.
The final whistle ended what was practically a perfect night for Barça which finally put a stop to a series of defeats in La Liga with the kind of play that we are used to from this team, particularly when they play badly like this against teams such as Valencia.
The team has performed a new life today. Better than expected, Barça ends the weekend seven points behind the leaders. Yet, this version is good enough to beat any team, that is strange. Great job, guys!
