Barcelona VS Valencia: Detailed Full Match Analysis....

WELCOME TO THE CAMP NOU!!! The Greatest Stadium on Earth is the home of Barcelona and the site of another big game in La Liga for the Catalan giants, who host Valencia looking to extend their winning streak to three games and climb up the table to perhaps start a title bid this season. But it won’t be easy against a Valencia team in desperate need of points to avoid a relegation battle, so this should be a good one. And you are more than welcome to join us to follow and comment all the action. LET’S LIVE BLOG!!!

(Note: the comments will be open only when the team news come out, because our commenter people love commenting and sometimes there are too many comments in the comments section)

LINEUPS
BARCELONA

Starting XI: Ter Stegen; Dest, Araujo, Mingueza, Alba; Busquets; Griezmann, Pedri, Coutinho, Braithwaite; Messi (4-1-4-1)

Bench: Neto (GK), Arnau (GK), Lenglet, Umtiti, Firpo, De Jong, Pjanic, Aleñá, Matheus, Puig, Trincão, Konrad

VALENCIA

Starting XI: Jaume; Wass, Gabriel, Diakhaby, Gayà; Musah, Soler, Racic, Cheryshev; Gómez, Guedes (4-4-2)

MATCH STARTS:
15min: Slow start to this one, with Valencia more than happy to park the bus and Barça struggling to find spaces so far.

27min: Ronald Araujo is down injured and Clément Lenglet is warming up.

28min: Araujo is back on the pitch and seems to be moving okay.

29min: TER STEGEN! Amazing diving stop on a shot by Soler.
                                                                          

GOAL, Barcelona 0-1 Valencia (Diakhaby 30’): Valencia take the lead. Corner from the right side, free header by Diakhaby.
                                                                          

32min: Quick counter by Barça, Pedri finds Griezmann but Antoine fires a weak shot and Jaume has a comfortable save.

44min: TER STEGEN AGAIN! Huge save on a header by Gómez.

45min: PENALTY TO BARÇA! Griezmann is pushed in the back by Gayà!

45+2min: VAR is checking the penalty.
                                                                     

GOAL! Barcelona 1-1 Valencia (Messi 45’+4): BARÇA EQUALIZE! Lionel Messi misses the penalty, but Jordi Alba gets to the ball first and crosses it to Messi who heads it home! Huge goal before halftime!
                                                                          

Messi equals Pelé mark
Despite Jaume Doménech's best efforts, Lionel Messi now has 643 goals for Barcelona in all competitions, equalling the record single-club haul set by Pelé at Santos between 1956 and 1974.

Barcelona have made a half-time substitution, replacing Sergio Busquets with Frenkie de Jong, who had spent the final period of the first 45 warming up.

 49min : What a chance for Cheryshev! He absolutely fluffs it.

Guedes bursts past Mingueza on the right, advances into the box and cuts it back to the penalty spot, where it's on a silver platter for Cheryshev to put the visitors back into the lead - but he gets a dreadful connection on the ball and it dribbles wide!

That's quite a let-off for Barcelona
                                                                         

GOAL! BARCELONA 2-1 (VALENCIA ARAUJO 52'): And having so nearly gone behind, Barcelona are ahead! Araújo fires in! Valencia are made to rue that Cheryshev miss almost right away.
                                                                         

Griezmann tries to play a give-and-go with Mingueza and latch on to the return ball inside the box, but the defender can't find the Frenchman with his dinked return pass.

However, it bounces back across the box and is snapped up by Araújo, who is falling over but pings it in past Doménech from 12 yards! 

54min : So close to 3-1 to Barcelona! It's a fine stop from Doménech, who gets down low very swiftly to keep out Braithwaite's back-post header, which was well directed and looked for all the world like it was going in.

55min : Mingueza is booked for a heavy challenge on Guedes. (Yellow Card).

57min: Ufff. Valencia aren't a million miles away from getting an equaliser there. Blanco does very well on the right before laying it off to the top of the box for Racic, who sends a sidefooted effort just past Ter Stegen's left-hand post.

61min : Dest cuts inside from the right and pulls a low shot wide of the near post. This has turned into a very enjoyable game.

65min: Braithwaite turns and cuts it back from the left-hand byline, but Griezmann doesn't appear to be expecting the Dane's ball and succeeds only in letting it run between his legs.

Coutinho then ducks and dives his way into the box and forces a corner, which is finally worked to the Brazilian to shoot - but it's charged down.

68min: It's all being played in the Valencia half at the moment. Gracia should surely be on the point of throwing on some fresh legs.

Goal! Barcelona 2-2 Valencia (Maxi Gomes 60'): And just as I say it's all being played in the Valencia half, Los Che go up the other end and equalise! 
Gayà gets to the byline and twists and turns away from Pedri before firing low into the six-yard box, where Gómez is first to the ball to clip home a real striker's finish with the outside of his boot! 2-2!

71min: That's a hit and a half from Mingueza, who barrels forward towards the Valencia penalty area and draws a smart stop from Doménech from 25 yards out!
Moments later, Coutinho forces Doménech into another crucial intervention. You can't talk your eyes off this one.

73min: Barcelona bring Francisco Trincao on for Griezmann.
75min:Messi does his peak-Messi move of cutting in from the right and jinking his way into shooting space just left of centre on the edge of the box... but his effort is a weak one and Doménech scoops it up with ease.

Gómez adds to growing goal tally against Barça:
Spanish football-stats guru Mister Chip points out that Maxi Gómez's goal today is the fifth that he has scored against Barcelona in his career. Only Real Sociedad have been on the end of more goals since the Uruguayan arrived in LaLiga.


78min: Close from Coutinho! The Brazilian cuts inside from the left and fizzes a low shot towards Doménech's far post, but it flashes just wide! That's the type of thing Barça paid a king's ransom to see him do; he hasn't done it nearly enough in Catalonia. 

79min: And that is Coutinho's last involvement in the game. He is brought off for a centre-back in Clément Lenglet, as Koeman opts to switch to a back three of Lenglet, Mingueza and Araújo.

82min: Free-kick to Barcelona just outside the box in prime Messi territory. Can he overtake Pelé?
No. He sends it a couple of yards over.
According to Movistar+ journalist Ricardo Rosety, that makes it 59 consecutive free-kicks without scoring for the Argentine.

83min: And up the other end, Blanco cuts it back to Guedes inside the box - but the Portguese can't connect! This game really is there for the taking for either side.

86min: Barcelona replace Pedri with Miralem Pjanic.

87min: Valencia bring on Manu Vallejo. Guedes - who has been fantastic - makes way.

90min: De Jong scampers in from the left towards the edge of the box, before dinking a ball into the danger area, where Trincao is waiting for it - but Doménech is quickly off his line to punch it clear.
Valencia introduce Kang-in Lee for Cheryshev.
Three minutes of time added on at the Camp Nou.

91min: Jordi Alba is shown a yellow card for his complaints to the referee when Lenglet is penalised for fouling Maxi Gómez in an aerial challenge. 
It's a decent-looking free-kick for Valencia on the right flank...

93min: ...which comes to nothing. It's finally worked to Manu Vallejo on the right, where the substitute tries to find Blanco at the far post, but his cross is slightly overhit.
Up the other end, Barça win a corner and will have the game's final chance to create a winner. 

FT
But Valencia clear and Alejandro Hernández  blows for full time! 2-2 it finishes.

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