Valencia vs Barcelona HIGHLIGHTS, VAL 0-5 BAR, Copa del Rey quarterfinal: Ferran, Yamal, Fermin on target as Barca book semis berth
Valencia vs Barcelona HIGHLIGHTS, VAL 0-5 BAR, Copa del Rey quarterfinal: Ferran, Yamal, Fermin on target as Barca book semis berth
Ferran Torres hit a hat-trick as Barcelona routed Valencia 5-0 on Thursday to cruise into the Copa del Rey semifinals.
Fermin Lopez and Lamine Yamal were also on target for the record 31-time Spanish Cup winner as it swaggered to victory at an upset Mestalla stadium.
Earlier, Real Sociedad progressed with a comfortable 2-0 win over 10-man Osasuna, joining Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in a strong final four.
Former Valencia forward Torres took the plaudits with his treble inside 30 minutes, taking full advantage of Barca coach Hansi Flick’s decision to rest striker Robert Lewandowski.
The Spaniard netted in the third minute, running onto a fine Alejandro Balde through ball and finishing clinically against his former side.
In a dominant display of football, Barcelona books its place in the Copa del Rey semifinals with a 5-0 win against Valencia.
Lopez with a late chance to add to his goal tally but his effort is not on target.
De Jong picks out Yamal on the right side of the box as the former cuts into his left and shoots low amidst a sea of Valencia bodies. His effort is not on target
Fort makes a driving run inside the Barca box but is stopped in his tracks by the Valencia defence
IN: Barrenechea OUT: Guillamon
IN: Fort OUT: Kounde
Valencia gets the ball inside the Barca goal for the second time in this match but again, Barcelona’s effective offside trap leads to the goal getting cancelled.
IN: Mir OUT: Sadiq
Sadiq makes a run inside the Barca box from the left and then goes down as the thinned-out home crowd roars for a penalty. However, the referee waves play to continue. Nothing has gone Valencia’s really in the match.
IN: Lopez, Tarrega OUT: Perez, Diakhaby
IN: Casado, Olmo OUT: Raphinha, Pedri
And that is Barcelona’s fifth and Lamine Yamal gets his goal. Raphinha is the orchestrator again as he sets up Yamal for the shot with a backpass from inside the box. The 17-year-old shoots low at goal and the ball goes through two Valencia defenders and hits the back of the net.
Lamine Yamal, who we have not seen much of today, gets his first proper sight at goal. He gets the ball at the edge of the box and beats his marker with a chop. He then shoots at the far corner but fails to hit the target. A shot on target would have been a goal as the Valencia keeper was just a spectator as the ball flew past him.
Umar Sadiq makes another run inside the box and shows tricky feet to keep the ball from his markers. He is eventually tripped inside the box but it would not be a penalty as the offside flag goes up again for the Valencia forward.
Sadiq gets the ball, makes a darting run inside the box and keep his composure to find the far corner of the net but the goal will not stand as the assistant referee raises his flag for offside. A VAR check confirms the same. Barca’s offside trap comes good yet again.
IN: Martin, Martinez OUT – Balde, Cubarsi
– The second-half is underway at the Mestella Stadium as Barcelona leads Valencia 4-0.
: A Ferran Torres hat-trick and a Fermin Lopez goal keeps Barcelona in a comfortable 4-0 lead against Valencia as the referee blows his whistle for half-time. The Catalans already have one foot in the semifinals.
Valencia’s Fran Perez gets a yellow card for a reckless challenge on Cubarsi. Soon after, Sadiq too goes in the referee’s book a late tackle on Pedri.
45 Two minutes added at the end of the first-half!
An elderly gentleman in the stands, most probably a Valencia fan was seen waving a white handkerchief as a sign of surrender. The fans are growing restless and the home side’s lacklustre approach to the match is not helping its case.
It is a dangerous challenge from Fermin on the edge on Guillamon. The Barca player shows quite a bit of stud there as the Valencia player rolls on the pitch in pain. It seemed like a yellow card challenge but Fermin escapes without a booking.
Raphinha almost gets Barcelona’s fifth as his shot blazes over the crossbar. This Valencia outfit is extremely low on morale and that is evident from the body language of the players.
And it is four for Barcelona and some Valencia fans are heading for the exit and loud boos are heard from the home fans in the Mestella. It is Ferran Torres again, who takes a brilliant low-shot from the edge of the box to find the bottom-left corner. He has a hat-trick in just 30 minutes.
Valencia looks for a response as they build an attack from the left side. Peplu takes a shot at goal from distance, which is saved well by Szczesny at his near-post.
– Like their recent league game, in which Barcelona won 7-1, Hansi Flick’s men are running away with this match too. The offside trap doesn’t work for the Valencia backline as Fermin Lopez times his run to perfection from Pedri’s pass. He has the composure to control the ball with an excellent first-touch, take the ball around Valencia keeper, Stole Dimitrievski, and then lash the ball inside the net.
Lamal is played an excellent pass inside the box by Raphinha and the former goes for a low shot, which rattles the crossbar and comes back into play. Ferran lashes the ball inside the net on the rebound. Initially, the goa was chalked off due to offisde but a VAR check confirms that there is no offside and the goal stands.
– Cubarsi gives the ball away, which leads to a Valencia attack but the young defender recovers well to make a potential goal-saving block as Fran Perez takes a shot after making his way inside the box.
– As expected, Barcelona is going for the high press and it is working for now as the Valencia players find it difficult to find rhythm. The Catalans are also dominating possession with 83 per cent of the ball.
– Pau Cubarsi battles for the ball with Valencia’s Umar. He does well to win the battle and send the ball back to his keeper but takes a knock on his face and goes down on the ground. However, it does not look serious and he should be okay to continue after some medical attention.
And Barcelona has taken just three minutes to take the lead and it is Ferran Torres, who has scored the goal against his former team. Balde picks out his teammate with a peach of a pass from the left flank and Torres does well to pick up a space between two Valencia defenders inside the box and find the net with a first-time finish.
The Copa del Rey quarterfinal clash between Valencia and Barcelona is underway at the iconic Mestella Stadium in Valencia, Spain.
Total matches: 53
Valencia won: 8
Barcelona won: 28
Draws: 17
Barcelona will travel to Valencia for a Copa del Rey quarterfinal clash at the Mestalla Stadium on Thursday.
The Catalans have been in fine form in 2025, having won seven and drawn two of their last seven competitive matches since losing 2-1 to Atletico Madrid in their final game of 2024.
The last time the clubs met, Barcelona thrashed Valencia 7-0 but comes into the clash after edging a 1-0 victory against Alaves, courtesy of a strike from Robert Lewandowski.
The Catalans have enjoyed their recent trips to Mestalla, having won four of their last five away meetings with Valencia, including a 2-1 victory in their previous away encounter in August.
Valencia’s priority right now would be to ensure top-flight status for next season, with Los Che languishing four points from of safety in 19th place in La Liga standings after losing 11 of its 22 league clashes this season.
Valencia will face top-flight opposition for the first time in its current Copa del Rey campaign as the host will look to cause an upset to keep their hopes alive of winning an eighth Copa del Rey title and the first since 2018-19.
