Three talking points as Barcelona dismantle Valencia 5-0 in the Copa del Rey | OneFootball

FC Barcelona faced Valencia for the second time in 10 days and showed no respite, putting five goals past them away at the Mestalla. This comes fresh off the back of them scoring seven past the same opponents at the Montjuic in La Liga the weekend before last.

It was the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey and Barcelona were keen on getting past their opponents to book a place in the semis. Hansi Flick was spot on with his team selection and the XI played excellently on the pitch yesterday.

Barcelona scored 5 goals, thanks to a hattrick from Ferran Torres, and goals-a-piece from Fermin Lopez and Lamine Yamal. More importantly, the Catalan club also managed to keep a clean sheet which was important for the Polish goalkeeper’s confidence.

With all this in mind, here are three talking points for Barcelona as they dismantled Valencia 5-0 in the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey at the Mestalla.

1. The shark continues to bite

Ferran Torres is quietly enjoying an excellent season at Barcelona. The shark, as he is popularly referred to, continues to bite whenever given an opportunity and made the most of the start afforded to him at the Mestalla.

Going back to a stadium where he has enjoyed a lot of success as a Valencia player, the Spanish attacker was clinical in front of goal, taking three shots and ensuring that all three ended up in the back of the net, giving him the second hattrick of his Barcelona career.

The number nine role seems to suit Ferran Torres much more than him being stuck out on a wing and Hansi Flick has made sure he uses this to devastating effect. Having your backup striker net 10+ goals across all competitions is quite handy, to say the least.

The Spaniard is also the perfect team player. He is willing to put his head down and work for the team, in anticipation of an opportunity and never seemingly complains about game time. He has always been intelligent in his movement and if he adds the clinical touch to his game, there might just be no stopping him going forward.

2. Pedri is the best midfielder in the world

It is time to stop the disrespect towards Pedri and start acknowledging him as the best midfielder in the world. Just because he doesn’t end up on the scoresheet often, it should not take away just how good he has been this season.

A fully fit Pedri is a joy to watch and is extremely instrumental to Hansi Flick’s setup. He was at the heart of every single good thing that Barcelona did last night against Valencia, just like he has been almost the entire season.

The Canary Islands midfielder has been playing so consistently in games and he knows exactly when to speed up a process and when to slow it down. He has developed into a complete deep-lying playmaker and an orchestrator like, dare we say, Xavi.

Everyone envisioned Pedri to be the second-coming of Andres Iniesta but it seems like he is a player with the technical ability of Iniesta and the orchestrator instincts like Xavi. One can only hope he continues performing at this level for years to come.

3. The Ferran – Raphinha connection

Barcelona tried a new tactical setup against Valencia that totally caught them off-guard and was definitely the reason why Hansi Flick’s men managed to put so many goals past their opponent last night. It was a very interesting plan from the German coach.

Ferran and Raphinha played the game practically hugging each other on the pitch. They were so close to one another that it seemed like they had morphed into one and yet, the duo knew exactly what to do at every single instant.

Every time Ferran dropped to receive the ball, Raphinha went beyond him, causing immense chaos amid the backline. Valencia’s defenders didn’t know which one to follow and in the end, ended up being stuck in no-man’s land.

This was yet another display of Hansi Flick’s immense tactical acumen that he has shown repeatedly this season. His ability to read the opposition’s strengths and weaknesses is incredible and let’s see if we see this becoming a regular occurrence going forward.