FULL-TIME, Valencia 1-1 Barcelona: A painful watch if you’re a Barça fan, and a feeling of two points dropped at Mestalla after taking the lead against a very poor Valencia side. The rules say both teams should take a point from this game, but neither deserves one. It was pretty bad.
70’ GOAL, Valencia 1-1 Barcelona (Guillamón): Valencia equalize. Barça fail to properly clear a cross from the right and the ball falls to Hugo Guillamón at the edge of the box, and the midfielder curls a beautiful shot into the top corner to make it all square.
55’ GOAL!!! Valencia 0-1 Barcelona (Félix): BARÇA TAKE THE LEAD!!! Frenkie de Jong plays a sensational pass over the top to find Raphinha and the Brazilian gives João Félix a tap-in at the far post to put the away team in front!
SECOND HALF KICKOFF! Valencia 0-0 Barcelona: Back underway at Mestlla!
HALFTIME, Valencia 0-0 Barcelona: A borderline unwatchable first half with the same issues in attack for Barça, who have had a lot of the ball but struggled to break down Valencia’s low block. The score tells the story of the game pretty accurately so far, and neither team looks like winning it at the break.
KICKOFF! Valencia 0-0 Barcelona: And we’re underway at Mestalla!
WELCOME TO THE ESTADIO DE MESTALLA!!! One of the iconic venues of Spanish football is the site of a massive La Liga clash between hosts Valencia and Barcelona, who come into this one in desperate need of good news after two bad losses and a week of much noise and pressure on the team and especially on coach Xavi Hernández. The Catalans must respond, but it won’t be easy against a Valencia side also looking to get out of a bad run of results and that always bring their A-game against the Blaugrana at Mestalla. This should be fun, and you’re welcome to join us to follow and comment all the action. Vamos!
(Note: the comments will be open only when the team news come out, because our commenter people love commenting and sometimes there are too many comments in the comments section)
LINEUPS
BARCELONA
Starting XI: Peña; Cancelo, Kounde, Araujo, Balde; Pedri, De Jong, Gündogan; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Félix (4-3-3)
Substitutes: Astralaga (GK), Kochen (GK), Christensen, Cubarsí, Fort, Roberto, Casadó, Romeu, Fermín, Yamal, Ferran, Guiu
VALENCIA
Starting XI: Mamardashvili; Correia, Mosquera, Diakhaby, Vázquez; Pepelu, Guillamón; Yaremchuk, López, Pérez; Duro (4-2-3-1)
Substitutes: Doménech (GK), Rivero (GK), Gasiorowski, Özkacar, Foulquier, Amallah, Mari, González, Canós, Gozálbez
MATCH INFO
Competition/Round: 2023-24 La Liga, Matchday 17
Date/Time: Saturday, December 16, 2023, 9pm CET/WAT (Barcelona & Nigeria), 8pm GMT (UK), 3pm ET, 12pm PT (USA), 1.30am IST (India, Sunday)
Venue: Estadio de Mestalla, València, Spain
Referee: Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias
VAR: Ricardo De Burgos Bengoechea
HOW TO WATCH
On TV: ESPN Deportes (USA), Viaplay Sports 1 (UK), Sports18 (India), SuperSport (Nigeria), Movistar LaLiga (Spain), others
Online: ESPN+ (USA), LaLigaTV (UK), Movistar+ (Spain), others
Matchday Thread Rules
We don’t have a lot of rules here, but there are a few things to keep in mind when joining our matchday threads:
Even if the referee sucks or we lose the game, watch the swearing. It’s just unnecessary. Also, don’t discuss illegal streaming links. Those who do it will be warned, and those who post links will be instantly banned. Finally, be nice to each other. This is a Barcelona community and we don’t need to offend one another.
Have fun with the game! Forever and ever, no matter the competition, VISCA EL BARÇA!
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