Barcelona 7-1 Valencia: Barca run riot after taking a three-goal lead in just 14 MINUTES against Carlos Corberan’s strugglers as Fermin Lopez nets twice

Barcelona demolished Valencia with a 7-1 thrashing at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.

Despite a resounding El Clasico win in the Spanish Super Cup against Real Madrid earlier this month, Hansi Flick’s side entered the game in the midst of a poor run of form in the league.

In their last eight league fixtures prior to Sunday’s clash Barca had won just one game – a 5-1 drubbing of Mallorca – stretching back to the start of November.

The dismal sequence of results saw the club slip to third in the league table, behind both Real and Atletico Madrid.

However, against a Valencia side in the midst of a battle to maintain their top-flight status, the hosts ran riot, with Frenkie de Jong opening the scoring after just three minutes.

With the floodgates opened, Ferran Torres doubled his side’s lead just minutes later, before Raphinha made it three on 14 minutes.

Hansi Flick’s side are the top scorers in LaLiga, with 59 goals from their 21 games thus far

Former West Brom boss Carlos Corberan finds himself in a battle for survival since taking charge of one of Spain’s most decorated clubs

Fermin then netted a brace before half time to extend Barca’s lead to five heading into the interval.

Despite the lopsided scoreline Valencia continued to pose an occasional threat, and their persistence was rewarded just before the hour mark as striker Hugo Duro netted a consolation.

Robert Lewandowski was left out of Barca’s starting XI after netting a double against Benfica in the Champions League in midweek.

After being brought on as a second-half substitute the veteran striker wasted little time joining in the fun, adding Barca’s sixth to mark his 17th league goal of the season.

Barca continued to press and got their seventh 15 minutes from full-time when Valencia defender Cesar Tarrega turned the ball into his own net while under pressure from Ferran Torres.

The result leaves Valencia just one point off bottom in LaLiga, and four points from safety.

After a disastrous start to the season, the club brought in Carlos Corberan from West Brom last month in attempt to turn their fortunes around.

Corberan picked up his first league win at the club against Real Sociedad last week but faces an uphill battle if he is to steer them away from relegation for the first time in nearly 40 years.