Barcelona made a strong statement in the Spanish league on Sunday, securing a convincing 7-1 victory against Valencia, with four different players finding the back of the net within the first 24 minutes of the match.
Frenkie de Jong kicked off the scoring just three minutes into the game, followed by Ferran Torres and Raphinha, who scored at the eighth and 14th minutes, respectively. Fermín López capped off the early barrage with a goal in the 24th minute at the Montjuic stadium. The first half concluded dramatically as López netted another goal during stoppage time, leaving Barcelona ahead 5-0 at halftime.
Valencia managed to get a goal on the board with Hugo Duro finding the net in the 59th minute, but Barcelona quickly responded with Robert Lewandowski scoring in the 66th minute, followed by an own-goal from César Tárrega in the 75th minute.
This dominant win helped Barcelona close the gap to three points behind second-place Atletico Madrid, who drew 1-1 against Villarreal on Saturday. The gap to league leaders Real Madrid has been reduced to seven points after they secured a 3-0 win over Valladolid, bolstered by a hat trick from Kylian Mbappé.
López expressed the team’s relief at getting back on track after a tough stretch, saying, “We hadn’t been doing well in the league and we needed to bounce back with a victory like that. We have to keep fighting.” Despite recent successes in various tournaments, Barcelona had been struggling in the league with no wins in their last four matches.
Hansi Flick, the team’s coach, became the second-quickest manager to reach 100 goals with the club, achieving this milestone in 32 matches. He now joins an elite group, with only Helenio Herrera accomplishing the feat faster in the 1950s. Luis Enrique and Tito Vilanova are tied at 34 matches, while Pep Guardiola needed 37 to reach 100 goals.
Barcelona’s attacking prowess has been evident, as they have scored five or more goals in four of their last five matches across all competitions. This follows a thrilling 5-4 victory over Benfica in the Champions League and a 5-1 triumph against Real Betis in the Copa del Rey.
On the other hand, Valencia currently sits in 19th place in the league standings, battling relegation. They welcomed back defender Mouctar Diakhaby, who returned after a serious knee injury that kept him out for 11 months. Valencia’s coach, Carlos Corberán, stated, “The only positive from this game was the return of Diakhaby. We all know how important he is for us.”
In other league action, midtable Real Sociedad faced a 3-0 defeat at home against 14th-placed Getafe, marking their third consecutive loss across all competitions. Seventh-placed Rayo Vallecano came from behind to defeat eighth-placed Girona 2-1, with Randy Nteka scoring twice in the 80th and 83rd minutes. Meanwhile, fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao was held to a 0-0 draw at home against struggling Leganes.
