BARCELONA: Barcelona snap­ped their four-match winless streak in La Liga with an emphatic 7-1 victory over Valencia on Sunday, with Fermin Lopez scoring an impressive double and adding two assists.

Barcelona sit third in the standings with 42 points, three behind sec­ond-placed Atletico Madrid and seven adrift of leaders Real Madrid.

Relegation-threatened Valencia are 19th with 16 points after their first defeat in five matches in all competitions.

Frenkie de Jong opened the scoring after three minutes with a right-footed shot from the centre of the box that found the bottom left corner after Lamine Yamal’s precise cross.

The Dutch midfielder continued to impress and played a key role in Barca doubling the lead. His pass allowed Alejandro Balde to set up Ferran Torres, who steered the ball into the net.

Raphinha added a third before the 15-minute mark, taking advantage of a mistake by Giorgi Mamardashvili. The Valencia goalkeeper was caught in no-man’s land as he raced out to close down the Brazilian, who calmly slid the ball into the empty net.

Lopez put the icing on the cake in a frenetic first half, adding a fourth on 24 minutes and a fifth before the break with a powerful long-range shot from the right.

“We were coming from a bad dynamic in La Liga and we needed this win. I needed a game like this. I’ve had a lot of injuries and it was important to gain confidence,” Lopez told DAZN.

Hugo Duro grabbed a consolation for Valencia after the break with a shot from close range.

But Barcelona continued to dominate and substitute Robert Lewandowski added a sixth before an unfortunate own goal from Cesar Tarrega wrapped up the scoring for Hansi Flick’s side.

“For me it was the perfect match,” Flick told reporters. “(Fermin) today showed how good he was... he attacked everything and defended very well, with the ball he was unbelievable.”

Valencia has recorded only two wins in their last ten La Liga fixtures while losing five.

“I feel angry and sad for all the people who came to see us, all the fans watching at home, we have to say sorry because we weren’t up to the level of the game or the shirt that we represent,” said Valencia defender Jose Gaya.

“It was an enormous step backwards, we have to ask for forgiveness... we have to feel hurt after this, we can’t forget it, we have to focus that energy and rage into the next game.”

Earlier Athletic Bilbao, fourth, could only produce a 0-0 draw at home against Leganes, and now trail Barcelona by two points.

Relegation-battling Getafe ear­ned an impressive 3-0 win at Real Sociedad to climb to 14th, while Rayo Vallecano came from behind to beat Girona 2-1.

Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2025