The Spanish Liga never fails to deliver as Catalan Giants, Football Club Barcelona trash Valencia FC at the Mestalla. The match was expected to be of “equal competition” but FC Barcelona turned the tables around and completely dominated the home side.
The battle between these two sides had begun in the pre-match press conference as Xavi Hernandez, Barcelona manager said that José Bordalás, Valencia’s coach was opting for a “cheating” method of play.
His players made the most of the minimal contact, causing the game to stop and earning an unnecessary foul. This angered the opposition coach who said, “I do whatever is necessary to win!”.
Both teams lined up with their classic formations and chose their best available 11. Valencia opted with a 4-4-2 formation with stars Jose Gaya, Carlos Soler, and Guedes leading the team.
Fc Barcelona opted with their “evergreen” 4-3-3 formation. Stars of the previous match, Pedri and Adama Traore were given a well-earned rest for the upcoming mid-week Napoli fixture.
First Half: The game was finished even before it started
FC Barcelona looked comfortable on the ball from the starting whistle. Launching attack after attack from both flanks, Barca looked unstoppable. Valencia was bright with their defending as they manage to hold on.
This was however broken at the 23rd-minute mark as a star striker, Aubameyang latched on to a lofted ball and calmly finished making the score 0-1.
This put Valencia in a struggling position and conceded another goal at the 32nd minute as Frenkie De Jong stretched to finish a clever ball in by Dembele. Score was 0-2 in favor of Barca.
Valencia’s misery continued as they considered a third goal as Aubayemang received a tap-in ball from the right flank.
The first half score was 0-3 and a brace for Auba.
Second Half: Slight hope for Valencia
A slight hope for Valencia rejuvenated as they started the half strongly. After launching several attacks they finally scored at the 52nd-minute mark as Carles Soler was unmarked while taking the corner and heading in a powerful goal.
Barcelona was struggling a bit and to end things, Xavi brought in star midfielder, Pedri. He kept the ball and gave the control back to FC Barcelona.
The whole stadium was stunned and silenced as Pedri shot a screamer from outside the box. It beat the Valencia keeper easily and went in the left top corner. This was the shot of the highest standard and made the score.
When analyzed properly, it was found that the shot had a slight deflection of Aubayemang and the referee had to give him the goal instead of Pedri. Thus Auba registered his first official Barcelona hattrick.
This was the end for Valencia and the score was a humiliating 1-4 loss to FC Barcelona.
This win is extremely crucial for FC Barcelona who retains their fourth spot in the Liga with a game in hand. It also gives the squad a much-needed “confidence” before the away game to Napoli where they fight for the UEL.
