Robert Lewandowski continues to shine in Barca’s shirt. The former Bayern striker got a hattrick last night against Valencia to secure all three points for Barcelona.
Relying on Lewandowski’s hattrick, Barcelona defeated Valencia by a 4-2 margin at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys. But it was not as easy as it seemed. Despite getting an early lead, Barcelona were trailing as the visitors netted twice before going to the break. But Robert Lewandowski stole the show in the second half with his hattrick, which secured the win against Valencia.
As It Happened
FC Barcelona welcomed Valencia last night after having two defeats in a row in the Champions League and La Liga. Manager Xavi Hernandez was desperate to get his team back on the winning track. He set up the team formation with 4-3-3. Meanwhile, Valencia’s boss played his team with a moderate 4-4-2 formation.
Barcelona, as usual, tried to dominate the visitors by controlling the midfield. They didn’t take much time to go ahead as Fermin Lopez found the back of the net in the 22nd minute. The credit should be to Raphinha for his brilliant cross, which found Fermin Lopez unmarked to score the goal.
However, the visitors reacted quickly and found the leveler within a few minutes. In the 27th minute, Barca goalkeeper Ter Stegan made an error that led Hugo Duro to find the equalizer.
Ronald Araujo, whose red card changed the entire momentum for Barcelona against PSG, made a mistake against Valencia too. He fouled Hugo Duro inside the box, giving away a penalty kick to the visitors. However, Pepelu stepped forward to take the penalty and made no mistake!
It seemed Barcelona could suffer another defeat, but Mamardashvili’s red card changed the scenario. The Valencia goalkeeper intentionally touched the ball outside of the box and received a red card just before halftime.
Barcelona took that advantage in the second half, starting with Robert Lewandowski’s brilliant goal in the 49th minute. The home team created tons of chances but had to wait until the 82nd minute to take the lead again. It was Lewandowski who got his brace when he found the back of the net with another header. The striker completed his hattrick in the additional time, scoring his third goal from a brilliant free kick. In the end, Barcelona secured all three points against Valencia and moved to the 2nd, replacing Girona.
