Barcelona finished their La Liga season with a disappointing loss to Valencia at the Mestalla. Hansi Flick’s side travelled to Valencia already crowned La Liga champions, but the nature of their second half performance should provide major warnings heading into next season.
Full match review
The game was an emotional one given Robert Lewandowski's last game for Barcelona. The Pole did ensure his last appearance was a memorable one by opening the scoring on 60 minutes.
Ferran Torres' effort was flicked on past Dimitrievski by Lewandowski to make it his 120th for the club and his ascent to the top 10 all-time goalscorers in Barcelona history. In that moment you’d have expected the champions to win out the final game comfortably.
This was anything but, the technicality and structure completely collapsed. The breakthrough came 5 minutes after it. A misplaced pass from young substitute Xavi Espart allowed Javi Guerra space in the 65th minute to slot home the equaliser for Valencia.
Momentum was with the hosts and Barcelona struggled to adapt to their direct running, once again the back line collapsed on 70 minutes, Luis Rioja nipped past it and beat Szczesny low to his left to send the Mestalla into a frenzy at 2-1.
Barcelona tried to hit back and Andreas Christensen had a strong header saved but Barcelona lacked urgency and the right spacial arrangement with the ball. Guido Rodriguez made it 3-1 in stoppage time to round off the scoreline.
What the defeat means
Losing a game when they have already won the league title does no harm to current standing, but Barcelona cannot overlook the tactical weaknesses that was exposed in the final 30 minutes.
Barcelona conceded 3 goals in 30 minutes due to poor transitional defending and poor decision making from individual players.
In Flick’s rotation policy, the defensive cohesion drops far too quickly. With Lewandowski leaving and key defensive targets shifting, there is little doubt needing reinforcements.
This game proved the squad needs massive investment if they plan to contend for more trophies next season, especially the Champions League.
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