Lewandowski Hits Brace As Barcelona Open La Liga Campaign With Narrow Win
Robert Lewandowski scored a brace as Barcelona came from behind to record a 2-1 victory over Valencia on the opening weekend of the 2024-25 La Liga campaign.
Valencia took the lead in the 44th minute of the contest, with last season’s leading goalscorer Hugo Duro heading a cross from Diego Lopez into the back of the net.
However, Barcelona were level in the final exchanges of the first period when Lewandowski was on hand to convert a driven cross from Lamine Yamal, who started despite only just returning to training after helping Spain win Euro 2024.
Hansi Flick’s side then took a 2-1 lead from the penalty spot early in the second half, with Lewandowski making no mistake after Cristhian Mosquera had brought Raphinha to the ground.
Barcelona’s midfield absences meant that Marc Bernal and Marc Casado lined up in the middle for the Catalan giants, and it proved to be an impressive victory for last season’s runners-up in Spain’s top flight.
There was more good news for Barcelona in the second half, as Pedri made his return from injury as a substitute, with the midfielder recovering faster than expected from the knee problem that he suffered while representing Spain at Euro 2024.
Real Madrid will again be La Liga title favourites this season, so it was imperative that Barcelona opened their campaign with a victory, and they just managed to edge past a Valencia side that failed to register a shot on target aside from their goal.
Next up for Flick is a first home league game against Athletic Club on August 24.
