Valencia vs Barcelona – La Liga as it happened
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Your support makes all the difference.Lionel Messi's equaliser earned off-colour Barcelona a point against Valencia after Ezequiel Garay had put the hosts in front. Re-live the action:
What time does it start?
Valencia vs Barcelona kicks off at 7:45pm (BST)
Where can I watch it?
The match will be shown live on Eleven Sports 1, with coverage starting from 7:40pm. Eleven Sports subscribers can also watch the game via the online video player or the Eleven Sports app.
Highlights will be shown at midnight on the same channel.
It’s a big game for…
Nelson Semedo: The Portuguese right-back has struggled with life with the Catalan giants so far and his display against Spurs at Wembley was an example of that. He was overly cautious when attempting to support the visitors’ attack and looked defensively out of sorts, committing to ground too early for Kane’s goal and was very lucky to not gift a chance to Lucas Moura late on due to a lack of awareness.
Remember when…
Lionel Messi has struck up fruitful partnerships with many Barcelona forwards over the years, but his on-the-field connection with left-back Jordi Alba is something that has created its fair share of goals too. That was precisely the case in November last year, when the former Valencia left-back scored a stunning equaliser from Messi’s lofted pass after Rodrigo had opened the scoring for the hosts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwTXwL_IM2A
Player to watch…
Geoffrey Kondogbia: The Frenchman ran the show in the Champions League this week against a lacklustre Manchester United midfield, alongside the more diminutive Parejo. Nevertheless he will face a much sterner test when he battles it out with Sergio Busquets on Sunday night. He may also have the best chance in the Valencia side of stopping Lionel Messi due to his ability to come from nowhere and win the ball, and therefore a lot of Valencia’s success in both boxes will come down to the former Monaco man.
Past three-meetings…
Barcelona 2 (Suarez, Umtiti) Valencia 1 (Parejo pen), La Liga, April 2018
Valencia 0 Barcelona 2 (Coutinho, Rakitic), Copa del Rey, February 2018
Barcelona 1 (Suarez) Valencia 0, Copa del Rey, February 2018
Odds…
Valencia to win: 19/5
Barcelona to win: 8/13
Draw: 3/1
(Odds provided by 888 Sport)
Valencia 1-1 Barcelona
72 minutes
Messi lines up a free kick on the edge of the box, and the crowd wait anxiously. But he hits the wall and Barcelona continue to look for a way through.
PSG 1-0 Lyon
52 minutes
A rapid counter attack ends with Mbappe striking the outside of the post, but PSG might have conceded a freak own goal at the other end. This has been a strange evening.
Valencia 1-1 Barcelona
78 minutes
Barcelona are starting to dominate now. Valencia, who have worked hard throughout, are clearly beginning to tire. Can the visitors make this pressure count?
Valencia 1-1 Barcelona
80 minutes
Messi cuts inside from the left onto his right foot but can only find the side netting.
GOAL! Mbappe hits a low shot, which strikes both posts and rolls over the line. That probably puts this game to bed.
Valencia 1-1 Barcelona
87 minutes
Ousmane Dembele has replaced Coutinho, who had a frustrating evening. Barcelona have a few minutes to find a winner and avoid a fourth successive game without a win.
GOAL! It's Mbappe again, and it's 3-0 PSG. Marquinhos squares for the Frenchman who taps into an empty net. That's well and truly game over.
That's six league goals for Mbappe this season already. PSG are on their way to a ninth win from nine Ligue 1 games.
Valencia 1-1 Barcelona
90 minutes
Two minutes of added time for Barcelona to find a winner.
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