Lamine Yamal scored twice as Barcelona opened up a three-point gap at the top of LaLiga by thumping Valencia 5-0 at the Mestalla.
Barça were looking to take advantage of Real Madrid slipping to defeat on Friday night and they did so in style, sending out a strong statement.
Yamal bagged a double, and had a third disallowed, with Fermín López, Raphinha and Pedri also on the scoresheet as Hansi Flick‘s side ran riot.
The rout made it four wins from four for the defending champions, who have already scored 17 goals and are looking very much the part in the early stages of the season.
Valencia remained bottom of the standings, having picked up just one point so far.
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Barca made the perfect start and went ahead in style with a sixth-minute opener.
Fermin’s clever ball played in Yamal and the Spain international produced a first-time flick from an acute angle that went into the roof of the net.
Barca were purring and thought they had made it 2-0 just two minutes later when Yamal swept home again, but the strike was ruled out for offside.
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It was 2-0 in the 22nd minute and this time Fermin was the goalscorer.
Anthony Gordon teed him up from inside the area and he unleashed a fierce drive into the bottom corner.
The visitors were going for the kill and Yamal should have got his second but he shot off target while Fermin also came close to doubling his tally before the break as Stole Dimitrievski made a fine save to turn an effort onto a post.
They needed just four minutes of the second half to make it three as Yamal and Fermin combined for Raphinha.
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A sweeping move saw Yamal play in Fermin, who put it on a plate for the Brazilian to tap home from a yard out.
The champions were irresistible and could have made it four but Rodri hit the crossbar with a header while Gordon was denied by another Dimitrievski save.
Pedri did add a fourth with 11 minutes remaining as he latched onto Dani Olmo’s pass and swept the ball into the bottom corner.
Olmo created the fifth five minutes later as he took advantage of lots of space, feeding Yamal to fire home a clinical finish.
