Barcelona returned to the top four with a convincing 4-1 victory over host Valencia on Sunday, which included a brace from Gabonese Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, as part of the twenty-fifth round of La Liga. This round also saw Sevilla falter against Espanyol with a 1-1 draw, a result that benefits league leaders Real Madrid.
At Valencia’s home ground, the Mestalla, Aubameyang registered his name on Barcelona's scoresheet for the first time (23 and 38 minutes), alongside goals from Dutch player Frenkie de Jong (32) and Pedri (63). Valencia's Carlos Soler netted their only goal (52). With this win, Barcelona returned to winning ways after two consecutive setbacks: first in a derby against Espanyol (2-2) in the previous round, and then in a 1-1 draw against Napoli at home in the first leg of the knockout stage of the UEFA Europa League, with a risky return match set in southern Italy next Thursday.
Consequently, Barcelona seized three valuable points, jumping to fourth place, qualifying for the Champions League with 42 points, surpassing Atletico Madrid on goal difference, while having a game in hand. Meanwhile, Valencia, with their second consecutive loss in the league, remained stagnant at 30 points in twelfth place.
The match began with mutual pressure from both sides, with Barcelona showing superiority that became clear with an early chance when Ferran Torres passed the ball inside the area to Aubameyang, who failed to control it (19). However, just four minutes later, Aubameyang, who joined from Arsenal during the winter transfer market last month, opened the scoring with a powerful strike to the left of the goalkeeper after receiving a long through ball from Jordi Alba that bypassed the defense (23).
Valencia equalized in the 26th minute through José Gayà, but the referee disallowed the goal for offside. De Jong added the second goal for Barcelona when he received a perfect cross from Frenchman Ousmane Dembélé and easily placed it into the net (32). This was Dembélé’s first match as a starter since January 12. The Catalan goal fest continued with another from Aubameyang, who received a pass from Gavi on the far right of the penalty area and deposited it into the net (38).
Aubameyang became the second Barcelona player to score two goals in his first match as a starter in La Liga in the 21st century, following Portuguese Francisco Trincão, who did so against Alavés in February 2021, according to Opta statistics. Once again, Soler reduced the score for Valencia with a bicycle kick in the penalty area, finding the bottom left corner of German goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen's net, but the referee disallowed it due to the ball having exited the touchline earlier due to a review from the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
At the start of the second half, Soler scored Valencia’s first “valid” goal in the 52nd minute by heading in a high cross from Bryan Gil from the left flank. However, Barcelona wasn't satisfied with just three goals; they scored a fourth through young player Pedri, who unleashed a powerful shot from outside the penalty area into the far right corner, which the Valencia goalkeeper failed to stop (63).
In another match, Sevilla stumbled in their pursuit of challenging Real Madrid for the title, drawing 1-1 against hosts Espanyol. Sevilla opened the scoring in the 36th minute through Rafa Mir, but Espanyol equalized in the 50th minute with a goal from Sergi Darder. Sevilla finished the last quarter of the match with ten players after their defender Jules Koundé received a second yellow card.
With this draw, their fourth in five matches, Sevilla failed to close the gap on league leaders Real Madrid, who remain at the top with 57 points, while Sevilla sits second with 51 points. Espanyol, on the other hand, raised their tally to 29 points in fourteenth place. Later in the same round, Real Betis is set to face Real Mallorca, while Athletic Bilbao will host Real Sociedad.
