Staff Reporter.
Poland striker Robert Lewandowski’s brace earned depleted Barcelona a 2-1 comeback win at Valencia in their opening game of the LaLiga season on Saturday.
Barcelona were made to come from behind after Hugo Duro tapped a Diego Lopez cross past Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
The first half was a slow burner before Duro’s 44th-minute opener. At that point it burst into life, with Duro having an effort cleared off the line before Robert Lewandowski connected with Lamine Yamal’s drilled pass to level.
Valencia had put up a strong showing before the break, but Barcelona then showed their superiority and went ahead as Lewandowski converted from the penalty spot in the 49th minute after Raphinha was tripped inside the box.
Yamal was a constant threat and the 17-year-old’s dribbling on the wings proved tough for Valencia to handle.
Valencia caused trouble of their own with Barcelona often being sloppy in midfield, and the hosts were strong on the counter-attack.
But Hansi Flick’s men were ultimately a class above and managed the rest of the game well to nullify Valencia’s threats and collect all three points.
Barcelona, who finished 10 points behind champions Real Madrid as runners-up last season, face Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, 24 August (18:00 BST) in their next La Liga game.