The Catalans dropped points again as they remained winless for the third game in a row.
Valencia held Barcelona to a 1-1 draw in their La Liga game on Saturday. Another underwhelming attacking display from the Catalans put their third spot on the table in danger.
What happened?
The first half started off with excellent pace, and this trend continued until the half-time whistle. The hosts made several attempts to score a shock opener early on before Robert Lewandowski missed two golden chances against Giorgi Mamardashvili.
Barca’s pressure continued after the break as they dominated the possession. The Catalans finally got their well-deserved lead when Joao Felix nodded Raphinha’s precise low cross into the back of the net in the 55th minute.
Valencia’s attempts to score a quick equalizer were repelled by Barca as the visitors pushed to double their lead. However, the hosts finally made it 1-1 when Hugo Guillamon curled home a spectacular shot from the edge of the box in the 70th minute.
Barca pushed hard to restore their lead in the final ten minutes, but Mamardashvili’s brilliant goalkeeping prevented them from scoring their second goal of the night.
Valencia vs Barcelona: Man of the Match
Frenkie de Jong made a brilliant display at the heart of Barcelona’s midfield line despite the frustrating result at Mestalla. The Dutchman’s presence dominated the midfield throughout the game as he was constantly involved in his team’s transitional play.
Player Ratings
Valencia: Mamardashvili (7), Correia (6), Diakhaby (6), Mosquera (7), Vazquez (5), Perez (5), Guillamon (7), Pepelu (8), D. Lopez (6), Yaremchuk (5), Duro (7).
Bench: Canos (6), Amallah (6), Gasiorowski (7), Foulquier (6), Mari (6).
Barcelona: Pena (7), Cancelo (7), Araujo (7), Kounde (6), Balde (6), Gundogan (7), De Jong (8), Pedri (7), Raphinha (7), Lewandowski (7), Felix (8).
Bench: Torres (5), Yamal (6).
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