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Robert Lewandowski’s hat trick leads Barcelona to a comeback victory over Valencia.
Barcelona defeated 10-man Valencia 4-2 at home thanks to a hat-trick from Robert Lewandowski in the second half.
Fermin Lopez put Barcelona ahead in the 22nd minute, but Hugo Duro equalized after Marc-Andre ter Stegen made a mistake.
Pepelu then kept his cool from the penalty spot to flip the game in Valencia’s favor. However, they suffered a big setback when goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili was sent off in first-half stoppage time.
Robert Lewandowski helped Barcelona win over Valencia
Lewandowski took full advantage of the numerical advantage, scoring two headers and curling in a free kick to complete his hat-trick and Barcelona’s fourth consecutive home victory.
The win takes Blaugrana back into second place in La Liga, while Valencia remains in eighth place, two points behind the top seven.
Ter Stegen and Araujo make costly mistakes
Barcelona had to respond to the recent ElClasico defeat in their first game after Xavi indicated that he had reconsidered quitting the squad at the conclusion of the season.
In the first few minutes at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, Xavi’s side was exposed by Valencia’s counter-attacking danger.
Duro’s flicked effort forced Ter Stegen to react, before Peter Gonzalez pulled the ball harmlessly wide from a potential one-on-one situation.
Valencia were punished for missing those two opportunities when Fermin climbed high in the box to head home Raphinha’s inviting cross.
Barcelona led for only four minutes before Ter Stegen misplaced the ball on the outskirts of the box, allowing Duro to score Valencia’s 13th league goal of the season.
After being punished for a harsh challenge on Peter, Ronald Araujo gave Los Che the opportunity to take the penalty.
Pepelu took responsibility for the second penalty kick, leaving Barcelona with a huge amount of work to do.
Mamardashvili sees red.
Joao Cancelo sought to lead Barcelona’s reaction, forcing a brilliant near-post save from Mamardashvili in the Valencia goal.
Just seconds after making a fantastic stop, Mamardashvili made a costly error that altered the course of the battle.
Mamardashvili was sent off for handling the ball beyond his box, preventing Lamine Yamal from advancing to an open goal.
Jaume Domenech took over in goal when Andre Almeida was substituted. He saved Raphinha’s free kick to give Los Che a narrow lead at the break.
Robert Lewandowski leads the Barcelona fightback
Unfortunately for Ruben Baraja’s young team, their slim lead was wiped out within four minutes of the restart.
Lewandowski soared high to meet Ilkay Gundogan’s near-post corner and put a glancing header beyond Domenech.
As the game entered the final 20 minutes, Barcelona threatened to score from another corner, but Domenech eventually equalized Araujo’s header.
Diego Lopez sprinted up the other end of the pitch to close in on Ter Stegen’s goal, but his chance to strike was cut short by Pedri’s last-ditch challenge.
Lewandowski emerged as Barcelona’s hero, nodding in from close range after Domenech failed to deal with a corner.
In the third minute of stoppage time, the Poland international secured the three points by curling a free kick over the wall and beyond of Domenech’s grasp, completing his maiden La Liga hat trick.
While the title remains out of reach, the victory leaves Barcelona on course to finish second, with two points separating them from Girona.
The Blaugrana will face Girona in a key game on Saturday. On the other side, Valencia must prepare for Sunday’s home match against Alaves.
