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Jul 29, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; FC Barcelona midfielder Fermin Lopez Martin (29) celebrates after scoring a goal during the second half against Real Madrid at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Barcelona Crushes Valencia During First Home Game

Originally posted on Stadium Rant | By Stefania Zajdel | Last updated Sep 14, 2025 7:24 PM ET

After the short international break, the fans were hungry to see another La Liga matchday. FC Barcelona, having drawn with Rayo Vallecano, wanted to redeem themselves and climb back to a top-three spot in the La Liga standings. For them, the match against Valencia CF was a means to a very clear end.

The Warm Up

The match against Valencia was Barcelona’s first home game of the season, but it was not played at the iconic Camp Nou. With the main stadium still under renovation, the teams had to settle for the much smaller Estadi Johan Cruyff. Despite the unfavourable circumstances, fans from both sides still showed up to support their players.

Barcelona, captained by Pedri, began pressing Valencia from the very first whistle. The overwhelming majority of the first half took place by the guest’s net. The team’s goalkeeper, Julen Agirrezabala, had his hands full. In just the first 15 minutes of the game, Barca’s players managed seven shots. Thankfully for their opponents, none was converted into a goal.

Fermin López was in his element, participating in many of Barcelona’s best actions. In the 29th minute, he was the one to push his team into the lead. After a pass from Ferran Torres, he put the ball into the corner of Valencia’s net, just outside of Agirrezebala’s reach. Thanks to his efforts, Barca went into the half-time break with a lead.

Barcelona Finds Its Way

Ferran had already wasted one chance in the first 45 minutes when he put the ball on the top of Valencia’s goal. He began the second half with two more wasted situations. First, he hit the goalpost and then the goalkeeper. He could only be thankful that his teammates seemed to have much more luck.

In the 54th minute, Marcus Rashford passed the ball to Raphinha, who had joined the game only a while before. The Brazilian was quick to convert the opportunity into a change in score. Then, two minutes late, the unstoppable Fermin scored again, making it 3:0 for Barcelona.

The Brutal End

The further the game went, the worse Valencia looked. In the 71st minute of the match, they noted their first shot on target, a rather measly number when compared to Barcelona’s 17. And, to make matters worse for the guest team, at that point, they were already four goals behind thanks to Raphinha’s second effort.

Jul 30, 2024; Orlando, FL, USA; Barcelona forward Robert Lewandowski (9) reacts after making a penalty kick against Manchester City in a tie breaker during a Champions Tour friendly match at Camping World Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Barcelona still wasn’t done. Once they turned the tide, there was no stopping them. The fifth goal of the match belonged to another player who wasn’t on the field from the very start, Robert Lewandowski. The striker was waiting for his chance to score his first goal of the season and did so in style with a bit less than 15 minutes left on the clock. As if that wasn’t enough, soon after, he scored again. Altogether, throughout the game, Barcelona managed to put the ball in Valencia’s net an astounding six times.

End Of My Barcelona Rant

Despite the somewhat slow start, the match belonged entirely to Barcelona. It almost seemed like Valencia gave up, letting their rivals walk all over their defence. Due to the victory, the Catalan pride moved to the second spot in the La Liga standings. The team ahead of them is Real Madrid, the only Spanish team to have won all their games so far.

This article first appeared on Stadium Rant and was syndicated with permission.

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