(WATCH) Fermin Lopez double and Robert Lewandowski puts Barcelona on course for incredible Valencia win

Barcelona have scored six goals as the Catalan giants have steamrollered simply Valencia tonight.

The Catalans are looking to close down the title gap on arch rivals Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid on home soil and Hansi Flick’s rotated side have been sensational from the off.

With Flick opting to refresh his team following the brilliant midweek UEFA Champions League win away at Benfica, one of his new faces fired home after just 145 seconds.

Frenkie de Jong has been a controversial figure at times this season but he showed a killer instinct to net his first home goal of the campaign.

Lamine Yamal’s brilliance created the chance for the Dutch star, and despite the chaos around him in the Valencia box, he kept his cool to slot home.

However, De Jong’s celebrations were quickly followed by more joy for the hosts, as Ferran Torres followed the pattern of fresh faces to find the net, before Raphinha made it 3-0.

With Valencia unable to cope with the onslaught, their chance of a reprieve was dashed after a penalty call against Wojciech Szczesny was overturned by VAR.

The pendulum swung back for Barcelona just before the break as Fermin Lopez sexed his chance to impress Flick with a quickfire double.

Keen to not be left out of the excitement, La Liga Golden Boot leader Robert Lewandowski was rolled on as a second half substitute and the Polish star lashed home his 17th league goal of 2024/25.

Barcelona now lead La Liga in the goal difference charts, however, with Raphinha’s strike bringing them up to +31 ahead of both teams above them in the overall table. – which could be key at the end of the campaign.

Victory tonight would move Barcelona up onto 42 points in third place in the table, three behind Atletico Madrid, and seven away from table toppers Real Madrid.

Images via Getty Images/One Football