Barcelona kept their perfect start to the Spanish league intact with an emphatic 5-0 win at Valencia. In temperatures topping 35 degrees at the Mestalla, the Catalans made it four wins from four and pulled clear at the summit.
Only days earlier they had thrashed Rayo Vallecano 5-2, and their attacking menace has been obvious since the opening day, when they beat Elche 5-0.
Hansi Flick handed Lamine Yamal a start despite doubts over his fitness, pairing him with Anthony Gordon and Raphinha in attack. Rodri, meanwhile, made his first appearance in a Barcelona shirt.
The visitors wasted no time seizing control. Lamine Yamal opened the scoring in the fourth minute with a lovely strike from the outside of his boot, then found the net again three minutes later, only for the referee to rule it out for offside. That let Valencia breathe amid relentless Catalan pressure.
Fermin Lopez doubled the lead in the 22nd minute after a spell of pressure, unleashing a superb effort from outside the box to take his tally to four goals this season. Valencia went close to pulling one back through Danjuma, but Joan Garcia produced a brilliant save to deny him in the 33rd minute.
Barcelona offered no way back after the interval. Raphinha made it three in the 50th minute as the Catalans tightened their grip and deepened the hosts’ misery.
Pedri then made it four, before Lamine Yamal returned to cap the rout with the fifth. It sealed his brace on a night when the Spanish winger dazzled once again.
Four wins from four, then, and Barcelona’s start remains flawless. Valencia could not live with their visitors for long stretches, and the Blaugrana walked out of the Mestalla with a thumping win that stretches their lead and lays down an early marker in the race to defend the Spanish league title.