Barcelona seize La Liga lead with dominant display in Valencia

Barcelona made the most of Real Madrid’s defeat on Friday, sweeping aside Valencia 5-0 in a one-sided performance. Hansi Flick’s team now stand alone as the only side with maximum points after four La Liga rounds, three points ahead of Real Madrid and Real Betis.

Lamine Yamal put the visitors ahead after just over five minutes, lifting the ball over goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski with the outside of his left foot from a tight angle. The teenager thought he had scored again two minutes later, but a marginal offside decision ruled out the goal.

Barcelona controlled the match from there. Their pressure created the second goal after 22 minutes, when Fermin Lopez received a layoff inside the area and drove the ball into the net. Valencia offered almost nothing in attack and rarely threatened Barcelona’s high defensive line.

Raphinha made it 3-0 five minutes after halftime with a close-range finish. Barcelona then worked their way through Valencia’s defense again, allowing Pedri to score the fourth with 13 minutes remaining. Valencia appeared eager for the final whistle, but Yamal completed the scoring six minutes from time from an unmarked position, becoming the match’s only two-goal scorer. Andreas Christensen came on for Barcelona for the final half-hour.