Barcelona Player Ratings vs. Valencia: Catalans Bulldoze Their Way to La Liga Summit

Barcelona pounced on Real Madrid’s first defeat of the season and destroyed Valencia 5–0 with tremendous ease, making it four wins from four to take sole possession of the top spot in La Liga on Sunday afternoon.

It took Barcelona six minutes to translate their dominance into an opener as Fermín López beautifully set up Lamine Yamal, who lobbed the goalkeeper with an even better finish to go in front early. The teenager would’ve bagged a brace three minutes later had he not been marginally offside.

But Hansi Flick’s men kept the pressure on and Fermín doubled the visitors lead with a sharp finish 22 minutes in. The score didn’t move again before the break but Barcelona continued to create chances for fun.

The script didn’t change in the second half and Raphinha slotted in Barça’s third five minutes after the restart. The game was largely uncompetitive from that point on and Flick was able to substitute the players that had been booked while also limiting the minutes of certain players under the scorching heat in Valencia.

Valencia offered no resistance and Barcelona didn’t lift their foot off the gas, meaning Pedri added a fourth before Yamal finally completed his brace late in the game.

Even without ever leaving second gear, Barcelona made Valencia look like an amateur side in their own home. It was another flawless display from Flick’s side that will have them confident for the start of their Champions League campaign midweek.

One Thing We Can’t Ignore

Lamine Yamal — Barcelona’s attack has been formidable to start the term. | Jose Jordan/AFP/Getty Images

Barcelona are yet to truly be tested by an opponent even remotely close to their caliber this season, but the Catalan attack has been ruthless to start the term and you can already tell what Flick’s plan is to deal with the absence of a natural, world class No. 9.

Much has been said about Raphinha’s devastating start of the campaign playing as a striker, and although it’s true that the Brazilian continues to lead the line, this iteration of Barça’s attack is by far the most fluid, positionless version of the Flick era.

The action of Barça’s opener is the clearest example. Fermín received the ball near the touchline essentially as a right winger, lobbing a pass for Yamal, who was operating centrally as the center forward with Raphinha behind occupying Fermín’s spot as a No. 10. The constant swapping of positions makes it nearly impossible for opponents to mark properly since they don’t have a clear reference of who their assignment is.

Three Barcelona players have three or more goals in the season already, and Anthony Gordon is up to four assists on the term. Barcelona may lack a target man inside the penalty are, but they have a wide array of options capable of finding the back of the net and a variety of ways to generate danger.

It’s early days and it will be interesting to see how Barcelona fare against stronger foes. For now, though, the entire forward line is thriving, and the Spanish champions look just as lethal as they did a season ago—if not more.

Barcelona Player Ratings vs. Valencia (4-3-2-1)

Fermin Lopez — Fermín López is has been on a tear. | Ivan Terron/Europa Press/Getty Images

*Ratings Provided by FotMob*

GK: Joan García—8.1: Excellent as a sweeper and he produced his first jaw-dropping save of the term with a one-on-one denial of Arnaut Danjuma. Confidence-boosting showing after a shaky night last time out.

RB: Eric García—6.3: An accidental collision with Rodri ended his cameo before the 30-minute mark as the right back was unable to recover from a blow in the face.

CB: Pau Cubarsí—7.5: There to clean up in urgency in a couple of transitions in which Barcelona failed to deploy the high line correctly. His positioning and comfort level already look miles better than a season ago despite Flick sticking to the same defensive system.

CB: Gerard Martín—7.3: Nervy in the first half, misjudging interceptions and leaving his partner to clean up after him. Eventually settled and did well, even if he wasn’t really tested.

LB: Xavi Espart—7.9: Not as flashy as in recent appearances but Espart continues his strong start of the term at left back. He nullified David Otorbi in the battle of teenagers.

DM: Rodri—7.8: Strong first start in Blaugrana. The action of Barça’s second started from his stellar job at absorbing pressure and releasing the ball forwards. A poor turnover resulted in Valencia’s most dangerous action of the match but he enjoyed himself otherwise.

DM: Pedri—8.7: Quarterbacked his side’s attacks with tremendous ease. One of those games where he seems to barely exert himself but is always in the right place at the right time. Positioned himself higher up the pitch as the minutes ticked on, which allowed him to make a run that ended with his first goal of the term.

RW: Lamine Yamal—9.4: Unlucky not to have a brace inside the opening 10 minutes. Still, his opener was a thing of beauty and finally completed his double with a strong finish late. Confirmed his return to form.

AM: Fermín López—9.3: Back in the lineup and back to being at the heart of Barcelona’s attacking onslaught. A perfectly weighted ball over the top assisted Yamal’s first, a weak-foot rocket doubled Barça’s lead and he capped off his night with a square ball for Raphinha to tap in the third.

LW: Anthony Gordon—7.5: Keeps collecting assists for fun; up to four in the season now. He’s not the most active of Barça forwards but he understands his role in and out of possession and hasn’t put a foot wrong so far. Needs to be much more clinical.

ST: Raphinha—8.1: Hyperactive up front, always moving around and dragging defenders with him which opened space for other teammates. After a quiet first half, he calmly tucked in his sixth goal of the term early in the second.

SUB: Jules Koundé (29’ for E. García)—7.2: Combined well with Yamal after he came on. Was never forced to exert himself defensively against a weak Valencia attack.

SUB: Andreas Christensen (63’ for Cubarsí)—6.5: Didn’t misplace any of his 48 passes during his cameo.

SUB: Karim Adeyemi (63’ for Gordon)—6.7: His speed was a threat down the left but he was inaccurate with his final delivery.

SUB: Marc Bernal (63’ for Rodri)—6.7: Enjoyed himself against tired legs, creating two chances during his cameo as he set up shop deep inside the opposition’s half.

SUB: Dani Olmo (75’ for Fermín)—8.4: Needed just 15 minutes to collect a pair of nice assists. Thrived with space and time to work with. Needed a strong cameo given the showing of the man he replaced.

SUB: Gabriel Jesús (81’ for Pedri)—N/A

Subs not used: Wojciech Szczęsny (GK), Dominik Livacović (GK), Alejandro Balde, João Cancelo, Gavi, Hamza Abdelkarim

What the Ratings Tell Us

Pedri scored his first goal of the season. | Jose Jordan/AFP/Getty Images

Rodri and Pedri started in midfield together for the first time wearing Blaugrana colors and the Catalans dominated 76% of of possession with the pair together on the pitch. It was a taste of what the duo can offer, with Rodri dropping deeper to protect the backline, allowing Pedri to stay higher up the pitch without wasting energy out of possession—something that hindered him late last season. Barcelona’s attack gets all the shine, but the midfield is and will be the core of the team’s success.
Fermín López is up to four goals and two assists in his three starts this season, continuing his astonishing development. Dani Olmo was sensational in the World Cup, but he is firmly behind Fermín in the pecking order currently, with the 23-year-old blossoming into one of the best attacking midfielders in the world.
Pending confirmation, it seems Eric García broke his nose for the second time this year. Whether he misses any considerable time is yet to be seen, but he’s a major doubt for Barça’s Champions League debut on Wednesday. The struggling Jules Koundé, who was fine replacing the injured García on Sunday, will have another chance to impress it seems.

The Numbers That Explain Barça’s Emphatic Win

For the third time in four games, Barcelona’s xG was greater than four, crafting 4.05 in Sunday’s win. No team in La Liga has more than one such performance this season.
Barcelona controlled 74% of possession, completing over 500 more passes than the hosts. Pedri and Rodri were as advertised.
Barcelona created five big chances in the second half, scoring three of them. Meanwhile, Valencia didn‘t register a single shot after the break.
The visitors had 55 touches in the opposition’s box compared to Valencia’s 10.

Statistic	Valencia	Barcelona
Possession	26%	74%
Expected Goals (xG)	0.67	4.05
Total Shots	3	25
Shots on Target	2	10
Big Chances	1	6
Pass Accuracy	73%	92%
Fouls	7	6
Corners	1

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