Lamine Yamal scored twice as defending champions Barcelona maintained their perfect La Liga start with a dominant win at Mestalla.
BARCELONA: Lamine Yamal scored twice as defending champions Barcelona maintained their perfect start to the La Liga season with a commanding 5-0 victory over Valencia at Mestalla on Sunday.
The result gave Barcelona four wins from four league matches and kept them at the top of the standings with 12 points. Alaves moved into second place after a 5-2 victory over Osasuna, while Valencia remained winless with one point from four games.
Yamal opened the scoring in the sixth minute, finishing after a well-weighted pass from Fermin Lopez. Lopez then doubled Barcelona’s advantage in the 22nd minute, converting after Anthony Gordon created the opportunity.
Barcelona suffered an injury setback before the half-hour mark when Eric Garcia was forced off following an accidental collision with teammate Rodri. Garcia sustained a nose injury and was replaced by Jules Kounde.
The setback did little to disrupt Barcelona’s control. Raphinha added the third goal in the 50th minute, with Lopez providing his second assist of the match.
Pedri extended the lead in the 79th minute after a move involving Dani Olmo, before Yamal completed the scoring five minutes later. The teenager stayed onside to collect Olmo’s through ball and calmly found the net for his second goal of the afternoon. La Liga officially recorded Yamal’s goals in the sixth and 84th minutes.
The victory also marked a memorable Barcelona debut for Gabriel Jesus, who came on for Pedri in the 81st minute.
Barcelona dominated from the outset and rarely allowed Valencia to threaten, with their attacking quality once again proving decisive. The five-goal performance took their league tally to 17 goals in four matches.
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