In the late match of round 33 of La Liga at Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium early on the morning of April 30, Barcelona defeated Valencia 4-2 thanks to a hat-trick from star Robert Lewandowski.
At Lluis Companys Olympic’s home field, Barcelona easily created an overwhelming position against opponent Valencia. Coach Xavi’s team quickly concretized their advantage in the 22nd minute when Fermin Lopez jumped high and headed extremely dangerously to open the score 1-0 for Barcelona.
However, Valencia showed that they are always brave in important matches. Duro and Pepelu were the scorers for Valencia in the 27th and 38th minutes, after mistakes in Barcelona’s defense, helping “Los Che” lead 2-1.
Lewandowski shined with a hat-trick against Valencia (Photo: AP).
The highlight of the match came in the injury time of the first half. Valencia goalkeeper Mamardashvili made the mistake of blocking the ball with his hand outside the penalty area, leading to a direct red card.
Valencia only had 10 people on the field and they were forced to choose a defensive style of play. At the beginning of the first half, Lewandowski spoke up to equalize 2-2 for Barcelona. In the 82nd minute, the Polish star continued to score to help the Catalan club lead Valencia 3-2.
Valencia’s hopes ended in injury time. Lewandowski executed a classy free kick without giving the away team’s goalkeeper any chance, sealing a 4-2 victory for Barcelona.
After 33 rounds of La Liga, Barcelona ranked second with 73 points, 11 points behind top team Real Madrid. Coach Xavi’s team is determined to prevent their opponents from winning the championship early in La Liga this year.
