Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Fermin López each struck twice as Barcelona dismantled Valencia 6-0 in La Liga on 15 September, marking their first home game of the season at the Johan Cruyff Stadium.
Forced to host the fixture at their 6,000-capacity training ground due to delays in reopening the renovated Spotify Camp Nou, the Spanish champions delivered a display of ruthless attacking football in a modest setting. The emphatic win lifted Hansi Flick’s side to second place in the table, two points behind leaders Real Madrid, who maintained their perfect record with victory at Real Sociedad a day earlier.
Despite Valencia sitting deep after their 7-1 thrashing by Barcelona in January, the hosts dominated from the outset. After near misses from Marcus Rashford and Ferran Torres, López, who had been linked with a move to Chelsea over the summer, opened the scoring in the 29th minute. He latched onto a flick from Torres and drove a clinical finish beyond Julen Agirrezabala.
Valencia, managed by Carlos Corberán, failed to register a single shot in the first half, offering little resistance against Barça’s wave of pressure.
At half-time, Flick introduced Raphinha for debutant Roony Bardghji, and the Brazilian immediately transformed the attack. Rashford, on his brightest outing since arriving on loan from Manchester United, whipped in a fine cross which Raphinha converted at the back post.
Moments later, López struck again with a long-range effort that Agirrezabala could not keep out, before Raphinha drilled home a powerful finish at the near post to make it 4-0.
With the game wrapped up, Flick rotated his side ahead of Thursday’s Champions League opener, introducing Dani Olmo and veteran striker Lewandowski. The 37-year-old wasted no time, racing onto Olmo’s through ball to net his first goal of the season.
There was also a long-awaited return for 18-year-old midfielder Marc Bernal, who came off the bench after nine months out with a serious knee injury. Bernal marked his comeback with an assist, slipping a pass through for Lewandowski to delicately chip home his second of the night and Barcelona’s sixth.
