In what was the most shining example of a tale of two halves, Barcelona jumped on Valencia in the second half at Estadio Camp Nou to grab a 3-0 victory behind a Lionel Messi hat trick. The win temporarily sends Barcelona atop the La Liga table, with Real Madrid playing later Sunday.
Valencia outplayed the defending La Liga Champions for much of the first half, creating the better of the chances and dictating play through the midfield. Mainstay David Silva combined well with youngsters Pablo and Jordi Alba to create attacking opportunities for Valencia, which was without star striker David Villa because of injury.
Silva had a great chance for the visitors in the 29th minute, but Barcelona defender Gerard Pique put in a great block to avoid any serious threat. Valencia’s best chance of the half came two minutes later when Silva chipped a ball to the back post and found Alejandro Damian Dominguez’s chest, but his square ball that was searching for Hedwiges Maduro was tipped away by Barcelona goalkeeper Víctor Valdés.
Messi managed several chances for the home side, but could not put his shots on frame and the two teams entered halftime level at 0-0, with Valencia feeling confident after a great half.
How short-lived that would be.
With Valencia’s Carlos Marchena and David Navarro both missing due to suspension and Alexis out due to injury, the visitors began to display their defensive worries almost immediately in the second half.
The insertion of Thierry Henry into the line-up after halftime provided Barcelona with a spark that made the squad look like the world-class caliber team that it is. He was influential in several chances early in the second half, and the momentum quickly turned into a moment of brilliance from Messi.
In the 56th minute the Argentine star beat three Valencia defenders, including stopping on a dime to turn past Ángel Dealbert Ibáñez, who was beaten badly several times on the evening. Messi’s shot beat César Sanchez at the near post and gave Barcelona a 1-0 lead.
The brilliance continued from Messi (with due credit to Henry) and he would obtain the brace and then the hat trick all in just two minutes.
In the 81st minute, Messi perfectly brought down a lofted ball from Henry and curled a left-footed shot into the side netting past Sanchez to make it 2-0. Two minutes later, he found himself on the other end of an Henry through ball and cheekily beat Sanchez for the brilliant hat trick that gave Barcelona a 3-0 win.
After an encouraging first half, Valencia left the field in dismay by falling apart in the second half. Maduro was sent off in the 69th minute and Nikola Zigic missed a one-on-one with Valdés in the 68th minute that should have tied the game at 1-1 at that point.
Messi left to a standing ovation in the 88th minute and Barcelona jumped to the top of La Liga, even if only for two hours. Valencia remain firm in third place, now 18 pts. off the leaders’ pace.
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