Start and finish — one man was at the center of both: Lamine Yamal. He scored twice and set up attack after attack, as Valencia were thoroughly demolished 5-0 by Barcelona at their own Estadio Mestalla in La Liga.
The win puts Barcelona further ahead at the top with 12 points from four matches. Real Madrid sit fourth with nine points from the same number of games. Valencia, still without a win in four matches, sit 20th.
Playing away from home, Barca were hit by an early Yamal storm. The Spanish forward put Barca ahead in the sixth minute, finishing a fine pass from Fermin Lopez with a precise shot into the net. Two minutes later, he found the target again — once more set up by Lopez, Yamal rifled the ball into the net in an instant. But the goal was ruled out after a VAR review found offside.
Lopez scored and set up a goal — celebrations like this suit him well. AFP
Barca didn’t have to wait long for their second goal. In the 22nd minute, Lopez, who had set up the first goal, got on the scoresheet himself. The young midfielder made the most of Valencia’s disorganized defense, firing a left-footed shot into the net from inside the box. It was Lopez’s fourth goal of the La Liga season. He became the first Spanish player since Cesc Fabregas in 2011-12 to score at least four goals for Barcelona in the club’s first four league matches of a season.
In the 24th minute, Stole Dimitrievski kept Valencia from conceding a third. The Valencia goalkeeper made a fine leaping save to push Yamal’s curling shot over the crossbar.
Barca had another big chance in the 39th minute — another fine combination between Lopez and Yamal. Lopez slipped a pass into the box into Yamal’s path. Yamal dribbled past a defender and hit a low shot, but the ball went just wide of the post.
Barca went into halftime 2-0 up. The pattern of attack continued in the second half, and they got their third goal quickly. Rafinha tapped in a pass from Lopez to make it 3-0.
With that goal, the Brazilian recalled a piece of Barcelona legend Lionel Messi trivia. Messi scored six goals in Barca’s first four league matches of a season on two occasions, in 2012-13 and 2013-14. Rafinha became the second player since Messi, in the 21st century, to directly contribute to six goals (goals plus assists combined) in his team’s first four league matches of a season.
Even with three goals, Barca’s attacking edge didn’t let up. The Catalans got their fourth goal in the 79th minute, as Pedri found the target with a fine shot off a pass from Dani Olmo. Five minutes later, Yamal hammered the final nail into Valencia’s coffin, making it 5-0.