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Barcelona got their La Liga campaign off to a solid start with a 2-1 comeback victory over Valencia on Saturday evening.
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The visitors actually fell behind in a lively first half as Hugo Duro headed home, but Robert Lewandowski tapped home just seconds before the interval after a quiet individual 45 minutes.
Lewandowski doubled his tally just minutes after the restart from the penalty spot, steering Barcelona to three valuable points on Hansi Flick’s La Liga debut.
How the game unfolded
Barcelona tried to get forwards as quickly as possible, playing with a notably higher tempo compared to the style under former boss Xavi. Lamine Yamal was a threat out wide, but his early effort after cutting inside was well blocked.
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It took Valencia around 12 minutes to get forwards into the Barca box, but the hosts enjoyed a series of good moments. Duro and Andre Almeida both caused problems with some powerful runs, before the former headed over from a corner.
Raphinha crashed in an effort from range which stung the gloves of Giorgi Mamardashvili in the Valencia net, but goalmouth action dried up in the sweltering summer heat. Duro should have scored when he sliced a volley from six yards out, but fortunately for the Valencia striker, the offside flag spared his blushes.
Duro did find the back of the net two minutes before the break but, once again, the offside flag was raised. However, a VAR check confirmed the striker had timed his run perfectly and allowed the goal.
Marc Casado saw an attempt at an immediate response cleared a few yards in front of the line, and straight down the other end, Pau Cubarsi needed to make a goal-line clearance of his own to deny Duro after Marc-Andre ter Stegen gave the ball away.
With the final kick of the first half, Lewandowski equalised. Alejandro Balde’s cross flew across the box and was sent back across goal by Yamal, allowing Lewandowski to tap home into an empty net. A hectic end to an entertaining first half.
Yamal’s tame strike from close range should have seen Barcelona take the lead inside the first minute of the second half, but they had another glorious opportunity 60 seconds later when Raphinha was awarded a penalty.
Lewandowski stepped up to the spot and fired into the top corner, putting Barcelona ahead for the first time in the game.
Ferran Torres saw an effort saved shortly before the hour mark and Lewandowski nearly had a hat-trick with 20 minutes to go as his deflected effort went agonisingly wide.
Barcelona continued to push for a third but, with the job already done, simply kept control of the game en route to three valuable points.
