Barcelona thrash Valencia 5-0 as Lamine Yamal and Fermín López shine

Barcelona turned its visit to Valencia into a five-goal festival, maintaining a perfect start to the Spanish league and giving its title defense an emphatic early shape. The Catalan side has taken all 12 points from its first four matches, scoring 17 goals and conceding only two.

Lamine Yamal led a performance filled with attacking quality, scoring twice and having another goal ruled out for offside after a VAR review. Fermín López opened the way for Yamal’s early finish, then doubled Barcelona’s lead in the 22nd minute with a left-footed shot into the corner.

Four minutes after halftime, López turned provider again. He drove down the right and sent a low pass across for Raphinha to tap in. A post denied López another goal, while the crossbar stopped Rodri from scoring in his first start for the club. Pedri later added the fourth, and Barcelona completed the 5-0 victory.

The match also featured Gabriel Jesus’s Barcelona debut. The Brazilian came off the bench for the final nine minutes, while Rodri started in a lineup packed with recent world champions.

Barcelona defender Gerard Martín said the team refuses to ease off even when it leads by two or three goals. “Although we have a two- or three-goal lead, we always want more. Scoring so many goals while also keeping a clean sheet shows that we do not relax as a team,” he said. He added that the side’s versatility in defense and attack allows it to vary its approach during a match and surprise opponents.

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Although we have a two- or three-goal lead, we always want more. Scoring so many goals while also keeping a clean sheet shows that we do not relax as a team. There is a lot of versatility both at the back and up front. That creates a surprise effect for the opponent. We keep varying things during the same match.