Barcelona end LaLiga winless run with 7-1 thrashing of Valencia

FC Barcelona’s Raphinha celebrates after Fermin Lopez scored their fifth goal.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Barcelona snapped their four-match winless streak in LaLiga with an emphatic 7-1 victory over Valencia on Sunday, with Fermin Lopez scoring an impressive double and adding two assists.

Barcelona sit third in the standings with 42 points, three behind second-placed Atletico Madrid and seven adrift of leaders Real Madrid.

Relegation-threatened Valencia are 19th with 16 points after their first defeat in five matches in all competitions.

Frenkie de Jong opened the scoring after three minutes with a right-footed shot from the centre of the box that found the bottom left corner after Lamine Yamal’s precise cross.

The Dutch midfielder continued to impress and played a key role in Barca doubling the lead. His pass allowed Alejandro Balde to set up Ferran Torres, who steered the ball into the net.

Raphinha added a third before the 15-minute mark, taking advantage of a mistake by Giorgi Mamardashvili. The Valencia goalkeeper was caught in no-man’s land as he raced out to close down the Brazilian, who calmly slid the ball into the empty net.

Lopez put the icing on the cake in a frenetic first half, adding a fourth on 24 minutes and a fifth before the break with a powerful long-range shot from the right.

“We were coming from a bad dynamic in LaLiga and we needed this win. I needed a game like this. I’ve had a lot of injuries and it was important to gain confidence,” Lopez told DAZN.

Hugo Duro grabbed a consolation for Valencia after the break with a shot from close range.

But Barcelona continued to dominate and substitute Robert Lewandowski added a sixth before an unfortunate own goal from Cesar Tarrega wrapped up the scoring for Hansi Flick’s side.

Barcelona, who came into the game on the back of an impressive 5-4 win at Benfica that earned them a spot in the Champions League’s last 16, face Atalanta in their final league-phase match of Europe’s top-tier club competition on Wednesday.