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Lewandowski, Raphinha, Dembele lead Barcelona to 4-0 win over Valladolid

Barcelona, Spain, Aug 28 (EFE).- A Barcelona in superb form – with one assist by Raphael Dias Belloli (Raphinha) and two by Ousmane Dembele, along with two goals by Robert Lewandowski – crushed Real Valladolid 4-0 at Spotify Camp Nou before almost 84,000 fans on Sunday.

Xavi Hernandez’s squad began its upcoming marathon of six matches in 20 days with an easy victory, its second in a row, over a team recently elevated to First Division that has not yet notched a win after three outings.

Raphinha was brilliant in the first half and proved to be a nightmare for Valladolid’s Sergio Escudero on the right side, but with the visitors trying to keep the game in center-field, Hernandez had opted to create imbalances on the wings, thus manufacturing the best chances to drive on the net.

Barca exploited the wings, and the team managed by Jose Rojo (Pacheta) had incredible difficulty maintaining ball control against the Catalans’ pressure.

The first tally came in the 24th minute, when the ever-present Raphinha sent a great center to Lewandowski, who knocked it into the net with a right-footer.

Just a couple of minutes before the break, Dembele positioned himself on the right and assisted Pedri on the second goal.

After the intermission, Pacheta sent in midfielders Roque Mesa and Oscar Plano, but they were never able to really get into action against the Barca powerhouse and Eric Garcia got it to Lewandowski, who tapped it in again right in front of the net in the 64th minute for the 3-0.

The only time that the visitors threatened to get something going was while Barca was still celebrating Lewi’s fourth tally in three matches, taking advantage of missteps and getting Oscar Plano in to fire one that Marc-Andre Ter Stegen was able to field.

In stoppage time it was Lewandowski again, looking like he might grab a hat-trick, but that shot rebounded and Sergi Roberto handled it for the 4-0.

Lineups:

Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo (Sergi Roberto, min.60), Eric García, Balde; Sergio Busquets (Kessie, min.75), Gavi (De Jong, min.60), Pedri; Raphinha (Ansu Fati, min.60), Dembele (Ferran Torres, min.82) and Lewandowski.

Valladolid: Masip; Perez, Joaquin, Javi Sánchez, Escudero; Monchu (Oscar Plano, min.46), Aguado (Roque Mesa, min.46), Kike; Ivan Sanchez (Toni Villa, min.62), Anuar (Arroyo, min.76); and Sergi Guardiola (Sergio Leon, min.62).

EFE vmc/og/bp

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