Barcelona put up a sensational performance in a 4-1 win against Valencia, scoring four goals in a league away game for the first time in more than a year.
Despite having the ball, the Catalans didn't have many chances, but they made the most of them, scoring on three of their three shots in the first half. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored his first goal for Barcelona in the 23rd minute, blasting the ball to the top corner from within the area.
Just after the half-hour mark, Ousmane Demebelé delivered a pinpoint cross to Frenkie De Jong, who slipped the ball into the net, before Gavi found Aubameyang inside the box for his second goal.
Valencia didn't have a single shot on target in the first 45 minutes, so there was virtually little from the hosts. They did, however, have two goals disallowed after VAR reviews.
The first was a horrible blunder by Marc-André ter Stegen, who sent a cross by José Gayà into the net after Barcelona had taken the lead, despite Valencia's left defender being ruled to be offside in the buildup. In the 41st minute, Carlos Soler scored, but the ball had clearly gone out of play moments before.
Valencia finally scored in the second half, as Soler headed home a cross from Gayà eight minutes after halftime. Despite several good chances, Valencia's defense needed to improve if they were to make an unexpected comeback.
They couldn't, as Pedri scored a long-range goal in the 63rd minute, only minutes after replacing De Jong, and Giorgi Mamardashvili made a costly error that resulted in the ball ending up in the net.
As the game neared to a close, both teams had chances, but Valencia's major worry was avoiding further injury as Barca strutted to victory.
This important victory keeps Barcelona in fourth place in La Liga, giving the squad an advantage following Atlético's midweek setback, whereas Valencia will remain in 12th place, 10 points clear of the relegation zone.
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