Goals: 45’+4, Araujo 52′ – Diakhaby 29′, Maxi Gomez 69′

Barca 2-2 Valencian

Barca, with two consecutive wins and home field advantage, is rated higher than Valencia – the team ranked 13th in La Liga and only three points above the relegation group.

Diakhaby comfortably headed the opener for Valencia.

Barca could have avoided this goal if they had a better man-marking strategy.

This goal came from a fixed situation, but was the result of Barca not putting enough pressure on the opponent.

As the first half approached the final minutes, Barca found an opportunity again thanks to a familiar name, Lionel Messi.

Messi could not beat goalkeeper Jaume Domenech when facing from the 11 meter mark.

Messi headed in, equalizing 1-1 for Barca in first half stoppage time.

At the beginning of the second half, coach Ronald Koeman sent Frenkie de Jong onto the field to replace Sergio Busquets – who played unsatisfactorily in both defense and attack support.

Barca received a corner kick, but could not take advantage of it and was counterattacked in the 53rd minute. However, Valencia’s two midfielders fumbled under pressure from Pedri.

The 2-1 lead made it easier for Barca to play, as they held the ball 70% of the time for most of the second half.

After the loss, Barca pushed their team higher to find an equalizer, but failed in the last 20 minutes.

Messi did not make much of a difference, despite having a lot of balls in the second half.

In the end, Barca was held to a 2-2 draw by Valencia, on the day their attack was not up to the mark.

Squad:

Barca: Ter Stegen – Dest, Mingueza, Araújo, Alba – Pedri (Pjanić 85′), Busquets (De Jong 45′), Coutinho (Lenglet 78′) – Messi, Braithwaite, Griezmann (Trincão 72′).

Valencia: Domenech – Diakhaby, Gabriel, Gayá, Wass – Cheryshev (Lee Kang-In 89′), Soler, Racic, Musah (Blanco 42′) – Maxi Gómez, Guedes (Vallejo 86′)