Lewandowski's head rescues second place for Barça against an inferior Valencia

To survive a season in which there is nothing more at stake than pride, Barça needed intelligence. A lot of it. Three times they utilized their superior expertise to outplay Valencia, scoring goals from corner kicks, recovering from their own mistakes with a header from Fermín and a hat trick from Lewandowski from a set piece. [Narrative and statistics (4-2)]

The culés were determined to celebrate Xavi’s continuation on a disappointing night that saw a series of errors from both teams. Valencia attempted to resist, relying on finding weaknesses in the culé defense whenever possible. This is where Peter Federico exploited Cubarsi’s coverage of Cancelo’s mistakes and challenged Ter Stegen with little success, much to the Catalans’ relief.

Fermín, on the other hand, had a clearer view as he soared through the air to head in a precise cross from Raphinha. It took Barça 22 minutes to decipher Baraja’s plans, and now they only had to manage them. However, things unraveled in the most unexpected way.

Despite being one of Barça’s most reliable players, Ter Stegen’s 12 clean sheets did not prevent him from making a poor clearance outside the penalty area, which ended up becoming an unintentional assist for Hugo Duro to meekly score. The game restarted, and before they knew it, another blow came. This time, Araujo overwhelmed Peter Federico, leading to a penalty that Pepelu did not miss. In just ten minutes, due to unforced errors, Valencia seemed to have the game in their grasp.

Xavi addressed the vulnerability on the left wing by sending Koundé to defend, while demanding an increase in intensity. Cancelo attempted a shot to the near post that Mamardashvili saved. The signs suggested that Valencia would struggle to hold their ground, as confirmed when Araujo’s header hit the post. Mamardashvili’s subsequent error unleashed the onslaught from Barça.

Yarek relied on him to relieve the pressure, waiting for the end of the first half. However, when Lamine Yamal pressured him, the Georgian goalkeeper made an error by using his body… and his hand. The VAR had to intervene, but Mamardashvili knew that his game was over. Valencia, relying on Jaume Domenech, had to endure.

Controversy and a siege

This was confirmed when, after the break, the siege continued. De Burgos failed to see a penalty in a clash between Iñigo Martínez and Peter Federico, and Lewandowski scored the equalizer, once again capitalizing on a corner kick, with a controversial offside position and Fermín’s influence.

Xavi had bolstered the Basque defense and midfield with Sergi Roberto. This adjustment was necessary as Raphinha, Fermín, and strategic plays engaged Barça in every match. Valencia had few weapons to overcome even the slightest setback.

They ran, fought, and tried to force errors, but with a disadvantage, it was an overwhelming task, even for the unyielding Hugo Duro, with little assistance from a Puerto Rican loaned from Real Madrid. Nevertheless, they attempted to hinder Barça’s progress to no avail. They had no choice but to withstand the relentless onslaught of corner kicks.

Jaume saved Araujo’s shot, Yarek saved Gündogan’s shot, but Pedri had to intervene to prevent Diego López from scoring when facing Ter Stegen. However, Valencia had no options left. Lewandowski emerged once again, scoring with another header, and delivering a final blow with a free kick that condemned them.