Three talking points as Barcelona dismantle Valencia 7-1 in La Liga | OneFootball

FC Barcelona were against the wall coming into the La Liga game against Valencia last night. Already seven points behind table-toppers Real Madrid, Hansi Flick’s men found themselves 10 points behind with Los Blancos winning their game earlier this matchweek.

However, last night’s game wasn’t really a match. It felt more like a mismatch, with Barcelona all but wrapping up the game within the first 15 minutes. Beyond that, it was only a question of how many goals the Catalan club was going to score.

Ultimately, Barcelona put seven past Valencia, while conceding a rather cheap goal themselves. In all honesty, however, Hansi Flick’s men could have scored even more if not for some smart saves from Liverpool-bound Giorgi Mamardashvili.

It was a statement performance from Barcelona who have struggled a fair bit in La Liga in recent months. It is a message to both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid that the title race is far from over and that Hansi Flick’s men will continue their pursuit until it is no longer possible.

With all this in mind, here are three talking points from Barca News Network as Barcelona dismantled Valencia 7-1 in La Liga at the Montjuic.

1. 101 & counting…

You can love Hansi Flick’s Barcelona… You can be critical of Hansi Flick’s Barcelona… They can be frustrating to watch at times. One thing that you have to say about the team though is that they will always find ways to score goals.

By the sheer number of chances that the team creates every time they are on the pitch, scorelines such as the 7-1 against Valencia are bound to happen. Last night saw Flick’s team cross the 100-goal barrier for the season. 101 & counting to be precise…

When you take it into context that we haven’t yet crossed 2/3rds of the season, one wonders just how many Barcelona might end up scoring by May. One wouldn’t put it past them to take it beyond the 150 mark.

If players like Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski, and Lamine Yamal keep up this scoring rate, Barcelona could end up having a season for the stat books, and let’s wait and see just how many goals the team ends up with at the end of the campaign.

2. Fermin Lopez – wow!

WOW! Those are exactly the words that came to mind when watching Fermin Lopez play last night. The Spanish attacking midfielder has struggled to recreate the highs of last season and the stellar Olympics campaign he had, but that might have just changed last night.

With Pedri missing out on the game through an illness, Dani Olmo still working his way back from an injury and Hansi Flick deciding to rest Gavi who has started a lot in recent weeks, the stage was set for Fermin Lopez.

The Spanish international scored two goals on the night, both very well taken but his assists were a thing of beauty. How he managed to hit that ball first time on the turn perfectly into Raphinha’s path is something that still baffles us!

With such a solid display against Valencia, Fermin is likely to see more and more minutes in the coming weeks. If he can build on this and ride on this confidence wave, a huge future lies ahead of the youngster, and let’s wait and see how it goes.

3. Frenkie is back to his very best

When he plays at his best, there are very few midfielders in the world who are better at what they do than Frenkie de Jong. The Dutchman has had a torrid 2024 where nothing seemed to be going his way but it seems like the turn of the year has brought with it good fortune.

Since the beginning of the calendar year, Frenkie has been seeing regular minutes off the bench and hasn’t put a foot wrong whenever given a chance. All this added up to Hansi Flick giving him a start last night and boy, how good was he!

Playing in a box-to-box role, Frenkie showed the best of both worlds last night. He opened the scoring with an excellently timed run into the box, much like he used to do so regularly during Ronald Koeman’s time here.

Frenkie also complemented his own game by showcasing his other strengths, often dropping deep to start play and helping out in build-up. He seems to be back to his best, and the fact that he was taken off to a standing ovation from the Montjuic should say something. Has he done enough to start against Atalanta?