Barcelona defeats Valencia 5-0 to go top of La Liga

Madrid, Sept 6 (KUNA) -- Barcelona claimed sole possession of the top spot in the Spanish league after securing a comprehensive victory over rivals Valencia, winning 5-0 at the Mestalla stadium on Sunday in the fourth round of the competition. Lamine Yamal opened the scoring early in the sixth minute, while his teammate, midfielder Fermín López, added the second goal in the 22nd minute, ending the first half with the Catalan visitors leading 2-0. In the second half, Barcelona added three more goals: the first by Brazilian winger Raphinha in the 50th minute, the second by Pedri, and Yamal completed his brace and the team’s fifth goal in the 84th minute. With this result, Barcelona moved to 12 points at the top of the table, three points clear of second-placed Real Madrid, while Valencia remained stuck on one point at the bottom of the standings. In the same round, Real Madrid suffered their first defeat, losing 1-0 to third-placed Real Betis on Friday, and seventh-placed Atlético Madrid also fell, losing 3-0 to eighth-placed Athletic Bilbao on Saturday. (End) H.N.D./T.A.B.