2024-08-18 09:15:03
Barcelona got their La Liga campaign off to a solid start with a 2-1 comeback victory over Valencia on Saturday evening.
The visitors actually fell behind in a lively first half as Hugo Duro headed home, but Robert Lewandowski tapped home just seconds before the interval after a quiet individual 45 minutes.
Lewandowski doubled his tally just minutes after the restart from the penalty spot, steering Barcelona to three valuable points on Hansi Flick’s La Liga debut.
How the game unfolded
Barcelona tried to get forwards as quickly as possible, playing with a notably higher tempo compared to the style under former boss Xavi. Lamine Yamal was a threat out wide, but his early effort after cutting inside was well blocked.
It took Valencia around 12 minutes to get forwards into the Barca box, but the hosts enjoyed a series of good moments. Duro and Andre Almeida both caused problems with some powerful runs, before the former headed over from a corner.
Raphinha crashed in an effort from range which stung the gloves of Giorgi Mamardashvili in the Valencia net, but goalmouth action dried up in the sweltering summer heat. Duro should have scored when he sliced a volley from six yards out, but fortunately for the Valencia striker, the offside flag spared his blushes.
Duro did find the back of the net two minutes before the break but, once again, the offside flag was raised. However, a VAR check confirmed the striker had timed his run perfectly and allowed the goal.
Marc Casado saw an attempt at an immediate response cleared a few yards in front of the line, and straight down the other end, Pau Cubarsi needed to make a goal-line clearance of his own to deny Duro after Marc-Andre ter Stegen gave the ball away.
With the final kick of the first half, Lewandowski equalised. Alejandro Balde‘s cross flew across the box and was sent back across goal by Yamal, allowing Lewandowski to tap home into an empty net. A hectic end to an entertaining first half.
Yamal’s tame strike from close range should have seen Barcelona take the lead inside the first minute of the second half, but they had another glorious opportunity 60 seconds later when Raphinha was awarded a penalty.
Lewandowski stepped up to the spot and fired into the top corner, putting Barcelona ahead for the first time in the game.
Ferran Torres saw an effort saved shortly before the hour mark and Lewandowski nearly had a hat-trick with 20 minutes to go as his deflected effort went agonisingly wide.
Barcelona continued to push for a third but, with the job already done, simply kept control of the game en route to three valuable points.
Barcelona player ratings (4-2-3-1)
GK: Marc-Andre ter Stegen – 5/10 – A poor pass nearly gifted Duro a second goal shortly before the break. A nervy performance.
RB: Jules Kounde – 6/10 – Often left on an island by those around him. Lost plenty of battles but could hardly do anything about that because of the numerical disadvantage. Actually did better than he had any right to do.
CB: Pau Cubarsi – 6/10 – Some nervy moments early on but deserves plenty of credit for his goal-line clearance. Saved a certain goal. Fortunate to avoid a second yellow card early in the second half.
CB: Inigo Martinez – 5/10 – Offered very little at the back and failed to keep tabs on Duro. Hard to imagine him playing regular minutes this season.
LB: Alejandro Balde – 7/10 – Covered every blade of grass on the left side and looks to have improved his final ball. Caused all sorts of problems with his crossing before limping off on the hour mark.
DM: Marc Bernal – 6/10 – Decent. His inexperience was on show for a lot of this game as Valencia picked the spaces around him, but Bernal kept his composure and can be proud of his showing.
DM: Marc Casado – 7/10 – Nervy in the opening stages as his inexperience showed, but Casado grew into proceedings and played an important role after the break.
RM: Lamine Yamal – 7/10 – Not his best performance but still managed to grab the assist for Lewandowski’s equaliser. Causes problems even when he’s on the fringes. Needs to work on his defensive contribution.
AM: Raphinha – 6/10 – Deserves credit for what was undoubtedly an immense work rate, but this central Raphinha wasn’t great. Struggled to link things up but some smart movement earned his side a penalty early in the second half.
LM: Ferran Torres – 5/10 – Made plenty of runs but rarely actually received the ball, so ended up being out of position more often than not.
ST: Robert Lewandowski – 7/10 – Nobody on the pitch, including goalkeepers, had fewer touches in the first half than Lewandowski (13), but the veteran striker still managed to get his name on the score sheet. A great penalty after the break.
SUB: Gerard Martin (64′ for Balde) – 6/10
SUB: Pedri (64′ for Ferran) – 6/10
SUB: Andreas Christensen (64′ for Cubarsi) – 5/10
SUB: Eric Garcia (71′ for Bernal) – 6/10
SUB: Pau Victor (86′ for Yamal) – N/A
Subs not used: Inaki Pena (GK), Ander Astralaga (GK), Sergi Dominguez, Alex Valle, Hector Fort, Pablo Torre
Manager
Hansi Flick – 6/10 – For all Barcelona’s dominance on the stats sheet, they were hardly comfortable here. Plenty of work to be done yet.
