Good evening! Thank you very much for joining
Sports Mole for tonight's La Liga showdown between Barcelona and Valencia!
This is a repeat of last season's Copa del Rey final, which Valencia won to deny Barcelona the double, but there is now a new man in the dugout for the visitors after Marcelino's shock sacking during the international break. It leaves new boss Albert Celades with a tough opening task in his first match, although they face a Barcelona side still missing Lionel Messi and having only won one of their first three games this term.
Kickoff is just moments away, so let's start with a look at the team news...
BARCELONA STARTING XI: Ter Stegen; Semedo, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Arthur, Busquets, De Jong; Perez, Fati, Griezmann
SUBS: Suarez, Firpo, Todibo, Rakitic, Pena, Vidal, Roberto
VALENCIA STARTING XI: Cillessen; Wass, Garay, Gabriel, Gaya; Torres, Coquelin, Parejo, Guedes; Gameiro, Rodrigo
SUBS: Kondogbia, Cheryshev, Costa, Lee, Domenech, Diakhaby, Gomez
KICKOFF: Here we go! Antoine Griezmann gets us underway for Barcelona!
GOAL! BARCELONA 1-0 VALENCIA (ANSU FATI)
GOAL! Less than two minutes in to his first La Liga start at the Camp Nou and 16-year-old
Ansu Fati has broken the deadlock!
It is the stuff of dreams for the starlet as he runs on to De Jong's low pass into the box, drilling his finish into the bottom corner to leave Cillessen no chance against his former club! Remember the name!
That is now two goals in two games for Ansu Fati, who looks to have a really bright future here. Perhaps Barcelona do not need to go out and buy a new forward after all?!
On the flip side, what a nightmare start that is for Albert Celades. The former Barcelona midfielder sees his side fall behind within two minutes of his first game at the helm.
GOAL! BARCELONA 2-0 VALENCIA (FRENKIE DE JONG)
GOAL! Oh my word, what a start for Barcelona this is, and it is a role reversal of the first goal as the hosts double their lead!
Fati is the creator on this occasion, showing great footwork and pace down the left channel to skip past Garay before pulling it back for De Jong, who blasts it home with a first-time finish!
This has been an ominous start from the hosts, and unless Valencia can stem their rhythm sooner rather than later they could quickly see this one become embarrassing.
I'll just leave this here...
Fati, at 16, is also apparently the youngest Barcelona player to ever score at the Camp Nou. Records keep on tumbling for this prodigious youngster in the early stages of his career.
It has been a blitz from Barcelona in the opening stages of this match, but Valencia for their part just have not got going. The hosts have had 82% possession and are in complete control.
CLOSE! My word, Fati has the bit between his teeth here! The youngster cuts inside from the right and goes for goal, with his effort deflecting just wide of the far post with Cillessen beaten. He looks like scoring every time he gets the ball tonight!
Almost Iniesta-esque from Busquets as he clips a reverse pass forward which almost picks out Perez in the area. The youngster misjudges it, though, and cannot take the ball in his stride.
Valencia have their first attack of any real intent and it also sends Rodrigo through on goal, but a lunging Alba does just enough to deny the initial danger and prevent a shot on goal.
CHANCE! This is better from the visitors now. Rodrigo drops in before releasing Gameiro down the left channel, but the Frenchman lets the ball get away from him and is stretching when he hits it, slicing it wide of the near post.
Barcelona have resumed control of possession since that quickfire couple of chances for Valencia and now find themselves camped inside the opposition half once again.
Pass after pass for Barcelona now as they patiently probe for a way through. They are in no rush with this two-goal lead, which is exactly what they would have wanted after such an average start to the season.
A long, long passing move finally comes to an end as Guedes gets his foot in, but all he can then do is hack it forward straight back to the home side. Valencia just cannot get out right now.
DISALLOWED GOAL! Valencia think they have a way back into this match as Gameiro latches on to a Rodrigo pass before sliding his finish past Ter Stegen and in off the inside of the post. The referee's whistle goes to rule it out, but the replay shows that it was very, very close. It looks on to me, but VAR will check it after the offside flag went up...
GOAL! BARCELONA 2-1 VALENCIA (KEVIN GAMEIRO)
GOAL! The goal stands! Having initially been ruled out for offside, the decision is correctly overturned by VAR to hand Valencia a lifeline in this match, halving the deficit!
YELLOW CARD! Rodrigo is the first name in the book this evening for sweeping the legs out from underneath De Jong.
SHOT! Ansu Fati is by far Barcelona's most dangerous player tonight, and he comes close again here with another cut inside and shot. Again it is only narrowly wide of the target, and again Cillessen did not look as though he was getting there.
Valencia have show very little going forward today - certainly in comparison to their hosts - but this Barcelona side have not looked watertight at the back this season and you feel there will be another chance for the visitors. The bigger question is whether they can keep Barca at bay until then.
A cross is fired into the Valencia box from the right flank and Gabriel can only turn it towards his own goal, but Cillessen is alert to pluck it out of the air.
CHANCE! Well, I said there would still be chances for Valencia, and two arrive in quick succession here. They beat the press to get forward down the right and the ball is played inside for Gameiro, who suddenly finds himself with only the keeper to beat. Ter Stegen stays big to thwart him one on one, but the danger is not passed and it takes another fine stop from the keeper to deny Gameiro again moments later before the referee's whistle ends the attack.
Oh Fati is putting on an exhibition here. He produces a brilliant piece of skill to earn a yard inside the box and this time looks for a teammate when he could have perhaps gone for goal himself.
Good spell for Valencia at the end of the half here, but Ter Stegen has taken the pressure off his side with a series of fine aerial claims.
Just a minute left of this first half, and it is one which has been lit up by Ansu Fati so far. We still have a game on our hands, though, and it will stay that way as long as the deficit is only one goal.
SHOT! Griezmann has been comparatively quiet tonight, but he works room to shoot here before letting fly and firing over the crossbar.
There will be two minutes of added time at the end of this first half.
HALF TIME: BARCELONA 2-1 VALENCIA
An entertaining first half comes to an end at the Camp Nou, then, and it is Barcelona who go into the break with the lead courtesy of their very quick start to the match.
Valencia got themselves back into it despite surrendering the lion's share of possession - and there are chances there for the visitors - but the story of the game so far has been the emergence of 16-year-old Ansu Fati.
Making his first start for the club, the youngster took less than two minutes to score his second senior goal for them as Barcelona got off to a dream start.
Frenkie de Jong's low cross into the box was met by Fati, whose low first-time finish left Cillessen with no chance in the Valencia goal. Griezmann also deserves credit having let the ball run, but there was no doubting who was the man of the moment.
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Things got even better for the teenage starlet five minutes later when he returned the favour to Frenkie de Jong, setting up the Dutchman to score his first goal at the Camp Nou.
The experience of Garay could not nullify the skill of Fati, whose quick feet saw him skip past the defender on the left channel before pulling the ball back for De Jong to blast his finish home - a second Barcelona goal after only seven minutes.
Fati has come close to a spectacular second on a couple of other occasions too, but Valencia are still in the match courtesy of their goal back shortly before the half-hour mark.
Kevin Gameiro latched on to Rodrigo's pass before sliding his finish beyond the keeper, and while the goal was initially ruled out for offside VAR proved that he was in fact on, and allowed the goal to stand.
KICKOFF: Valencia get us back underway for the second half at the Camp Nou!
CHANCE! Bright start to the second half from Valencia, who see one cross well blocked by Lenglet before another reaches Gameiro at the back post. The Frenchman goes for a first-time volley, but gets it all wrong and it flies well over. A half-chance at best.
You just get the feeling that Barcelona will need another goal to make this lead comfortable. They have dominated possession, but Valencia can create chances on the break and, as things stand, they only need to take one of those.
GOAL! BARCELONA 3-1 VALENCIA (GERARD PIQUE)
GOAL! There is that third goal, and it is
Gerard Pique who gets it with a poacher's effort!
Cillessen will take some of the blame, though, having allowed Griezmann's low strike to squirm under his body and against the inside of the post. Pique channels his inner fox in the box to pounce on the loose ball, reacting much quicker than anyone else to tap home the rebound from close range!
YELLOW CARD! Alba goes into the book for a cynical shirt tug on Rodrigo to halt a counter-attack.
OFF THE POST! Barcelona are inches away from a fourth which would surely kill this game off once and for all!
This time it is Semedo who drives a low strike towards the bottom corner which is just beyond the reach of Cillessen but crashes against the inside of the post and rebounds this time to safety.
That third goal will ease a lot of nerves inside the Camp Nou. Barcelona should now be in complete control of this game and, considering the level of possession they are enjoying, it would take some collapse to throw this one away from here.
Ansu Fati is brimming with confidence here. He is ready to bring out all of the tricks and Valencia are now doubling up on him whenever he gets the ball. At 16 years old he is already feared by defences.
BARCELONA SUB: Well, they will not have to fear him any more. On comes
Luis Suarez in his place.
GOAL! BARCELONA 4-1 VALENCIA (LUIS SUAREZ)
GOAL! Well, that did not take long for Suarez to make an impact!
Just a minute after coming on, Suarez has his goal, and it is a really smart finish too. The Uruguayan hesitates with the ball at his feet just outside the area but then picks his spot and curls a pinpoint finish in off the foot of the near post.
That is surely game over now! Barcelona have taken this one away from Valencia in this second half.
CHANCE! Barcelona almost have a fifth, but they are denied three times in quick succession by Cillessen!
The first comes at the end of the brilliant driving run forward from De Jong, who slips the ball to Griezmann. The Frenchman tries to dink his finish over the onrushing Cillessen, who stays big to make a crucial stop. The former Barca keeper then thwarts the follow-up from Perez before making a more routine save to deny Arthur moments later with Barcelona still on the attack.
SAVE! Another save for Cillessen to make as this time Suarez goes for goal from range, but this time it is a relatively straightforward one for the keeper.
VALENCIA SUBS: Changes for the visitors as Kang-In Lee replaces Torres and Denis Cheryshev comes on for Guedes.
YELLOW CARD! Lee quickly goes into the book for a rash challenge on Perez.
BARCELONA SUB: Change for Barca now as De Jong replaces Ivan Rakitic.
VALENCIA SUB: A third and final change for Valencia as
Maxi Gomez replaces Moreno.
BARCELONA SUB: Barca follow suit with their last change as Arthur is replaced by Arturo Vidal.
SHOT! Busquets doesn't get many goals, but he comes close here with a curling effort from outside the box which ends up a couple of yards wide of the top corner.
Messi's name rings around the Camp Nou as they salute their absent hero. He is in attendance tonight, but these fans cannot wait to see him back out there.
SAVE! Lee tries to get his name on the scoresheet with a long-range strike which is well hit, but straight down the throat of the keeper.
YELLOW CARD! Gomez goes into the book for a nasty challenge right down the Achilles of Lenglet.
We have seen a couple of red cards for similar challenges to that one in La Liga this season. Maxi Gomez escapes without any further punishment on this occasion, but Lenglet needed treatment.
GOAL! BARCELONA 5-1 VALENCIA (LUIS SUAREZ)
GOAL! Barcelona have five and Suarez has two off the bench to mark his return in style!
Rakitic's dinked ball inside was cleared just in front of the line, but only as far as a Barcelona man. Griezmann then tees up Suarez, who again catches Cillessen out at the near post with a curling finish.
YELLOW CARD! Cheryshev goes into the book for a late challenge on Semedo.
It hasn't been the best start to the season for Barcelona - no doubt linked with the absence of Messi - but this will send a message out to La Liga. Five goals against Valencia is not an easy feat.
As for Albert Celades, this has been something of a nightmare start for him. Of course, assignments in La Liga do not get any tougher than Barcelona at the Camp Nou, particularly in your first game, but he would have expected his side to put up more of a fight here.
SHOT! The ball drops to Wass in the area and he hits a well-struck volley, but it flies over the crossbar.
There will be two minutes of added time at the end of this match.
GOAL! BARCELONA 5-2 VALENCIA (MAXI GOMEZ)
GOAL! Sharp play from Maxi Gomez to grab a late consolation for Valencia, darting inside to latch on to Cheryshev's low cross into the box and firing his finish past Ter Stegen.
FULL TIME: BARCELONA 5-2 VALENCIA
Barcelona look like they will be fun to watch at the Camp Nou this season! A second consecutive 5-2 triumph at home for the champions and, while they will be annoyed to concede that late goal, it is the return to winning ways which is most important for Valverde's side.
Luis Suarez came off the bench to score twice in the final half hour, but the headlines for this one will go to 16-year-old Ansu Fati, who played a starring role in the first half and had a goal and assist to his name within seven minutes.
Right, that is all we have time for this evening!
Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's La Liga showdown as Barcelona hit five past Valencia, with the help of their newest star Ansu Fati. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too!
From me, though, it is goodbye for now!
