FC Barcelona opened their LALIGA campaign with a come-from-behind win over Valencia in Hansi Flick's first official game.
LALIGA
Result: Valencia 1-2 Barcelona
Date: 17 August 2024
Venue: Mestalla
New signing Dani Olmo was not included in the squad but Pedri was named on the bench after recovering from the injury that ended his 2024 European Championship.
The game's first chance fell to the home side after 12 minutes as Andre Almeida embarked on a mazy run down the right flank but his deflected was impressively put behind by goalkeeper Andre ter Stegen.
The Barcelona shot-stopper had to be at his best once again ten minutes later, this time pulling off a superb save to prevent Duro from bagging a tap-in after the defence failed to deal with Pepelu's cross.
While Barcelona struggled to carve out any serious openings in the first half, Valencia went on to break the deadlock on the stroke of halftime when Diego Lopez did well to pick out Duro, who made no mistake with the header from close-range.
However, the visitors were able to get back on level terms a few minutes later as Robert Lewandowski opened his account for the season by turning home Lamine Yamal's cross in the six-yard box.
Hansi Flick's charges carried that momentum into the second half and were awarded a penalty after Raphinha was brought down in the box. Lewandowski stepped up and dispatched the spot-kick to complete the turnaround.
Valencia responded with a double change for the final 25 minutes, as Dimitri Foulquier and Daniel Alcón were introduced while Barcelona also threw on Andreas Christensen and the returning Pedri.
Barcelona had a chance to put the game to bed in time added on but were let down by their finishing after debutant Marc Casado headed over from close range.
Nevertheless, the Catalan giants were able to see out the rest of the clash to pick up maximum points and hand coach Hansi Flick a winning start to his reign.
