Valencia 1-4 Barcelona: Match Review – Tiki Taka is back

A warm and sunny day at Mestalla was treated to the perfect game of football as Barcelona took on Valencia. The clash between Xavi’s and Bordalas’ teams was a clash of ideologies, styles, and basic approaches to football.

On the night, the Barcelona manager made wholesale changes to the lineup, keeping the upcoming game against Napoli in mind. Pedri was rightfully given a rest after a run of six successive games.

Adama Traore, Oscar Mingueza, and Nico Gonzalez started on the bench too, alongside the suspended Gerard Pique. Ronald Araujo, Sergino Dest, Gavi, Ousmane Dembele and Sergio Busquets replaced them in the lineup.

The Catalans toyed with their opponents throughout the first half. The dominant performance in the opening period saw them garner close to 70% possession with a 100% conversion rate in front of goal.

The scoring opened in the 23rd minute, courtesy of a lovely combination between Jordi Alba and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The Spaniard sent in a ball over the Valencia defence that found the striker in front of the goal. With a calm, yet thunderous finish, Auba put the ball past a helpless Mamardashvili.

Watch: Aubameyang scores his first goal for Barcelona with a stunning finish

Within minutes, Valencia stuck back with Ter Stegen making a horrible mistake in goal. However, it was ruled out instantly for offside.

In the 32nd minute, Barcelona doubled their advantage through Frenkie de Jong. Alba was once again the mastermind behind the goal, sending in a lofted ball to Dembele. The Frenchman flashed the ball across the face to the goal where the Dutchman buried his chance.

Five Minutes later, Aubameyang scored his second goal of the night. Gavi provided a neat ball to the Gabonese striker who instinctively put it past the keeper.

Valencia’s biggest chance came in the 41st minute. Carlos Soler volleyed the rebound past Ter Stegen to pull one back. However, a review of the goal showed that the ball had been out of play during the buildup, effectively ruling out the home team’s goal.

Barcelona picked up where they left in the second period, dominating the proceedings. Oscar Mingueza replaced Eric Garcia and was immediately put to the test by Bryan Gil in the 52nd minute. The young winger sent in a perfect ball to Carlos Soler who headed it in from point-blank.

Just when it seemed that Valencia were finding their footing, Pedri sent a sensational shot past Mamadarshvili. The youngster came on in the 58th minute and fired an unstoppable shot into the goal just five minutes later.

Bordalas’ side pressed the accelerator after the hour mark and created numerous chances. Hugo Duro had close to three chances to beat Ter Stegen but failed to do so in all his chances.

With this win, Barcelona sit just one point behind third-placed Real Betis and stand a good chance of breaking into the top three in the coming weeks. More importantly, the team head into the must-win game at Naples in high spirits.