FC Barcelona v Valladolid (4-0) Match Review: Lewandowski &Dembele Shine and Kounde’s First Start!

The Barca Breakdown discussed the 4-0 victory against Valladolid. After much anticipation, Xavi started Kounde as the right back alongside Araujo, Garcia, and Balde. Again, Frenkie De Jong lost the starting position to Gavi. And the seemingly standard starting front line of Rahpinha, Dembele, and Lewandowski kicked off at the Camp Nou. 

 

The possession was dominated by Barca in the whole 90'. This isn't particularly surprising as Valladolid had recently just returned from regulation and in previous seasons always fell to the bottom of the table. Barca attacked time and time again until Lewandowksi scored from a cross from Raphinha. This opened the game up as players were able to find the open pitch and make runs through the midfield. The wingers dropped to the middle which pulled defenders back allowing Gavi and Pedri to run up the pitch into the box. Many times Gavi was able to get the ball in the box, but held on too long or was covered too quickly. Then the play dies.

 

Moving forward though Dembele lit up the match with two assists. The first was a pass to Pedri at the middle of the penalty box and the second came to Lewy in which he back healed it into the net. Lastly, Lewy just misses a hat trick off the crossbar and Roberto smashes it back. Barca geet another 3 points. However, Valladolid performed very poorly, and this game cannot be completely representative of Barca in its peak performance. Barca just drew Bayern and Inter Milan in the Champions League and these games will be much more of a test of Barca's capabilities.