Lewandowski’s brace gave Barca a win in their first game against Valencia

Two goals from Polish striker Robert Lewandowski helped a weakened Barcelona side beat Valencia in their competitive debut under Hansi Flick and open the La Liga season on Saturday.

Barca dominated the hosts from the start, but Valencia’s Hugo Duro shot home from close range in the 44th minute. However, the away team reacted quickly and Lewandowski scored an unstoppable penalty in first-half stoppage time from a home team cross from Lamina Yamal after Rafinha was fouled shortly after the first break.

“I don’t think we played well in the first 20 to 25 minutes, but more importantly, we scored before the end of the first half,” Lewandowski told ESPN after the game. And in the second half we knew from the start that we had to play more with the ball and control the game.

We had another opportunity to score but it is very difficult to play in this stadium in the first game of the season and in the end we got three points. And we worked as a team, especially because there was so much going on. From the young players onwards, we worked as team players on the pitch, which is very important for us.

His goal ended an era of slip-ups as Barcelona secured a comfortable victory against strong opponents at a packed Mestalla Stadium despite missing several key players from the start and fielding three 17-year-olds.

Ilkay Gündogan, Pedri, Gabi, Ronald Araujo, Frenkie de Jong and Ansu Fati are all injured, while new signing Dani Olmo remains in La Liga despite not being registered for breaching Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules. Be creative with his decisions.

In the scorching heat and humidity of the east coast of Spain, Marc Bernal, Lemina Yamal and Pau Corsi – all just 17 men – were on the start list.

Valencia had the upper hand from the start and Rafa Mir almost scored for the home team with two headers in the opening minutes, but Corsi’s opponents, Andre Almeida and Diego Lopez, came close as he tried to outrun the attack.

However, Quarsi prevented Valencia’s second goal with an incredible free kick from the line a minute after Duro had given Valencia the lead, with Mir already beating goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen. This kept Barca in the game and paved the way for Lewandowski’s brace.

The veteran’s first goal was the result of excellent coordination as Alejandro Balde sent a long pass from the left touchline to the back post, which was saved by 17-year-old Lamina Yamal, who headed the ball back six meters beyond the penalty area. . All it takes is one touch for Lewandowski to strike.

Two minutes into the second half, Rafinha defender Cristian Maskura was brought down in the penalty area and Barcelona were awarded a penalty, which Lewandowski fired into the top corner.

When Barca took the lead the game changed completely and the visitors had several chances to extend their lead as Valencia couldn’t seem to find the spark to fight back.