Barcelona return to winning ways with big win over Valencia in thrilling La Liga clash

Barcelona achieved a crushing victory over Valencia in the match that took place on Sunday evening, within the Spanish League competitions, which helped it regain the winning rhythm in the tournament. This great victory reflects the strength of the Catalan team and its determination to compete in the current season, as the players showed an outstanding performance during the match.

The match was held at the Montjuïc Stadium as part of the twenty-first round of the Spanish League, where Barcelona managed to achieve an amazing victory with a score of 7-1. This wonderful performance strengthens the team’s position in the standings and gives it a strong morale boost to continue competing for the title.

Barcelona managed to open the scoring early in the match, scoring the first goal in the third minute of the first half through Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong. The goal came as a result of a great team effort, as young player Lamine Yamal made a wonderful run, passing the ball perfectly into the penalty area.

Frenkie de Jong received the ball perfectly, showing his great ball handling skills, to be able to score successfully. This early goal gave Barcelona a great morale boost, and showed the strength of the team at the beginning of the match, which made the fans react positively to the performance.

In the fifth minute, Raphinha almost added a second goal, after a great pass from Balde. Raphinha shot the ball powerfully, but it hit one of the opposing team’s defenders, which led to it being turned out for a corner. This opportunity reflected the constant pressure that Barcelona put on the opposing team’s defense at the beginning of the match.

Barcelona scored their second goal in the eighth minute of the first half, as Ferran Torres was able to score after receiving a precise pass from his teammate Balde. Torres, who was in an ideal position in front of the goal, showed great skill in finishing the attack, but chose not to celebrate the goal out of respect for his former team.

Then, in the 13th minute, the star Raphinha added the third goal for Barcelona. The goal came after the Brazilian player was alone with the Valencia goalkeeper, who tried to block the opportunity. But Raphinha showed his dribbling skills, as he was able to get past the goalkeeper and shot the ball from the right side, placing it into the empty net.

In the 22nd minute, Valencia asked for a penalty kick after a tackle by Casado on one of their players inside the penalty area. However, the referee did not respond to their request, as he decided not to award anything, which was also confirmed by the video assistant referee, much to the dismay of Valencia players and fans.

Fermin Lopez scored his fourth goal for Hansi Flick’s side in the 24th minute, after a perfect pass from Coparsi. The goal was initially ruled out for offside, but after reviewing the footage, it was confirmed and allowed, adding more excitement to the match.

In the 27th minute, Ferran Torres had a golden opportunity to score his second goal and Barcelona’s fifth, after a great pass from his teammate Raphinha. However, Torres shot the ball inaccurately, as it went wide of the goal, missing the chance to increase his team’s lead.

In the 33rd minute, the referee awarded a penalty kick in favor of Valencia, after a controversial intervention by goalkeeper Szczesny against one of the opposing team’s players. The Barcelona player also received a yellow card as a result of this intervention, which increased the tension in the stadium.

Video technology intervened in the match to decide the fate of the penalty kick awarded to Valencia, as the decision was overturned after it was confirmed that there was a foul against player Kounde at the beginning of the game, which means that Szczesny did not deserve a yellow card in this case.

In exciting moments before the end of the first half, Barcelona managed to add the fifth goal to their tally, as Raphinha fired a powerful shot that hit the crossbar, and the ball reached Fermin Lopez, who did not hesitate to shoot it into the net, scoring a new goal.

At the start of the second half, Ferran Torres had another chance to score, but his shot went over the bar in the 55th minute. In the 58th minute, Valencia managed to reduce the deficit by scoring their first goal through player Hugo Duro, which prompted coach Hansi Flick to make a strategic change by bringing on star Robert Lewandowski instead of Raphinha to strengthen the attack.

Just seven minutes after coming on as a substitute, Polish star Robert Lewandowski showed his high skills by scoring Barcelona’s sixth goal, after a wonderful pass from the distinguished player Fermin Lopez, who played a prominent role in enhancing the team’s performance during the match. This goal added more excitement to the match, as Barcelona continued to control the course of the game.

In another development, the referee decided to disallow Valencia’s second goal in the 73rd minute, indicating an offside, which kept the score at 6-1 in favor of Barcelona. This decision caused some controversy among the players and fans, but the referee was firm in applying the rules, which helped maintain Barcelona’s lead in the match.

The Valencia and Barcelona match witnessed dramatic developments, as the situation worsened for Valencia after scoring the seventh goal in the 76th minute. This goal came as a result of a shot by player Ferran Torres from the right side, as the ball hit one of the Valencia players, who misjudged the ball and mistakenly shot it into his own goal. This disastrous mistake increased the suffering of the guests, which made things more complicated for them in the match.

After this harsh result, Barcelona’s tally rose to 42 points, which guarantees it third place in the standings. On the other hand, Valencia continued to decline, as its tally froze at 16 points, remaining in nineteenth place, which puts it in a critical position in the struggle to stay in the league.

Barcelona regained third place from Athletic Bilbao by crushing their guest Valencia 7-1, and remained close to the two Madrid clubs, in the twenty-first round of the Spanish Football League.
Barcelona won the match in the first half with five goals, scored by Dutch captain Frenkie de Jong (3), Ferran Torres (8), Brazilian Rafinha (14) and Fermin Lopez (24 and 45+4), before the second added the sixth by Polish substitute Robert Lewandowski (66) and Cesar Tarrega the seventh by mistake in his team’s goal (75), and Hugo Duro scored Valencia’s only goal (59).
Lopez told the “DAZN” broadcasting network, “I think we were in a bad dynamic in the Spanish League, and we needed this victory, it is very important, and now we have to keep fighting.”
“The coach says that every player in the team is very important, and whoever plays, we have to be up to the task, that is the essence of the team, that is how we can compete for the title, and “there is still a long way to go and we will fight until the end.”
Barcelona raised its score to 42 points, regaining third place, after a short period of time after Bilbao tied with Leganes (40 points), leaving the Catalan team 3 points behind second-placed Atletico Madrid, and 7 points behind leaders Real.
Barcelona also returned to winning ways, after 4 matches in which they did not taste victory, as they tied with Real Betis 2-2, lost to Leganes 0-1 and Atletico Madrid 1-2, then fell again into the trap of drawing with Getafe 1-1, before reconciling with their fans by beating “Los Bats”, and the Catalan giants achieved only their second victory in their last nine matches in the league.
Barcelona suffered a morale blow before the match when they announced the absence of their midfielder Pedri, who suffered a health problem, which prompted German coach Hansi Flick to rely on Dutchman De Jong as a starter in midfield. The latter lived up to his coach’s expectations by opening the scoring 3 minutes after the start of the match, after a pass from Fermin that he controlled inside the area, and shot it in front of the goalkeeper.
Barcelona added the second after a team play, with the ball reaching Alex Balde, who passed it inside the area to Torres, who followed it into the net (8).
Valencia had barely recovered from the second goal, when they received the third, 6 minutes later, from Brazilian Rafinha, who played around Georgian goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, and shot into the empty net.
It was the 12th goal for the Catalan winger, to which he added 7 assists.
Fermin added the fourth, after the video assistant referee (VAR) confirmed his correctness (24), before scoring his second personal goal and the fifth for his team after a shot from Rafinha hit the post and was prepared for the Spaniard, who followed it up with a low shot into the net in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
Duro scored the consolation goal for Valencia after a pass from Diego Lopez (58), before substitute Lewandowski restored the five-goal difference, after a pass from Fermin, who broke the offside trap (66).
Lewandowski scored his 17th goal, topping the scorers’ list, two goals ahead of Frenchman Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid striker (15).
The seventh goal came from friendly fire, after Torres shot the ball inside the area, which hit Tarrega’s foot and accidentally went into his goalkeeper’s net (75).
Barcelona are in high spirits ahead of their eighth Champions League match against Atalanta, having secured their place in the last 16 by finishing second in their group.
“I feel angry and sad for all the people who came to see us, and all the fans who follow us at home. We have to apologise because we didn’t live up to the game or the shirt we represent,”
said Valencia defender and captain Jose Gaya. “It was a huge step backwards. We have to ask for forgiveness. We have to feel the pain afterwards. We can’t forget it. We have to focus that energy and anger on the next match.