Barcelona crush Valencia at Johan Cruyff Stadium
If you heard that Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, and Lamine Yamal all sat out Barcelona’s La Liga game against Valencia, you heard the wrong story. Lewandowski and Raphinha not only started; they ran the show. Barcelona hammered Valencia 6-0 at the Johan Cruyff Stadium, with both forwards grabbing braces and Fermin Lopez matching them with two of his own.
The only star missing was Yamal. The 17-year-old winger was ruled out with a groin problem, but the rest of Barcelona’s attack clicked. After a flat display in the draw at Rayo Vallecano the previous week, Barcelona responded with pace, pressing, and ruthless finishing, turning a tight first half into a one-sided second half.
This was not at the Camp Nou for a simple reason: the stadium is still under renovation and has not been cleared to reopen. The club again used its training ground venue, which gives a different feel—closer stands, tighter space—but it did nothing to blunt Barcelona’s output. The team looked comfortable and confident in a setting that could have felt makeshift.
Three quick notes frame the night:
- Scoreline: Barcelona 6-0 Valencia, with a second-half surge sealing it.
- Scorers: Lewandowski (2), Raphinha (2), Fermin Lopez (2).
- Table: Barcelona climbed to second in La Liga, two points behind Real Madrid, who kept a perfect record.
Lewandowski’s movement kept Valencia’s back line guessing. He dropped in to link play, then attacked the box when crosses came from wide areas. Raphinha stretched the defense, found good angles, and finished with the conviction of a player in rhythm. Fermin Lopez tied it together between the lines, arriving late in the box and punishing loose marking. That blend—target forward, direct winger, timing from midfield—looked like a blueprint Hansi Flick will lean on.
Tactically, Barcelona were direct when they needed to be and patient when Valencia sat off. The back line held a high starting position, full-backs stepped into midfield to help circulation, and the press after losing the ball was sharp. Valencia never settled on the ball long enough to build consistent threats. By the time the visitors tried to push numbers forward, the damage was done.
The bigger takeaway? Barcelona answered a shaky week with authority. The team’s response after halftime was the kind of gear change title challengers need. It also eased the noise around form and fatigue, at least for now.
Why Yamal missed out and what Flick said
Yamal did not feature because of a groin injury. According to head coach Hansi Flick, the issue was already there before the international break and got worse when Spain used the teenager in both World Cup qualifiers. Flick did not hide his frustration about workload management for a 17-year-old who has already played a lot of minutes at club level. The club will monitor him and manage his return carefully.
Barcelona’s staff have pushed the theme of protection: reduce explosive loads, avoid back-to-back starts too soon after a flare-up, and keep him out of sessions that risk a setback. The calendar is unforgiving in September, with domestic games and European nights back-to-back, so the medical team is likely to be conservative rather than chasing a quick comeback. The aim is simple—protect a long-term asset instead of risking a short-term fix.
Flick’s stance fits the bigger picture. He needs Yamal later in the season when the margins get thin, but he also needs results now. That tension defined his call: trust veterans like Lewandowski and Raphinha to carry the attack, and use Fermin’s energy and timing to fill the creative gaps. On this evidence, the balance worked.
Beyond injuries, the venue remains a subplot. The Spotify Camp Nou rebuild is ongoing, and the club still does not have the green light to reopen. Playing at the Johan Cruyff Stadium is not ideal commercially, but the football looked fluent. Communication from the touchline travels faster in a smaller ground, and you could see the press cues—one step, then all go—arrive in sync.
For Valencia, this was a sobering night. They were second to most loose balls, struggled to handle diagonal switches, and left too much space at the top of the box. When they tried to commit extra bodies forward, Barcelona picked off the transitions. The scoreline reflected the gap on the day, not just bad luck.
As for the table, the win matters. Barcelona moved into second, two points off Real Madrid. Momentum matters early, not just for points but for pressure. A big scoreline after a frustrating draw changes the mood in the dressing room, and it gives Flick a clean slate to rotate when the schedule tightens.
So to the original question—were Lewandowski and Raphinha missing? Not even close. The storyline was different: veterans delivered, Fermin stepped up, and the teenager sat out to heal. If you’re tracking one phrase from this game, it’s this: Barcelona vs Valencia became the night Barcelona showed depth can cover for youth.
