Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski scored a second-half hat-trick to help his side fight back to claim a hard-fought 4-2 win over Valencia, who were leading 2-1 when they were reduced to 10 men just before the break.

Fermin Lopez’s header from a Raphinha cross put Barca in front after 22 minutes, but Valencia’s Hugo Duro struck in the 27th and Pepelu scored from the spot after a foul by Ronald Araujo 11 minutes later to give the visitors the lead.

But after Valencia keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili saw red for a handball outside the box before the break, Xavi’s side dominated and Lewandowski scored with two headers from corners in the 49th and 82nd minutes before getting his treble with a free-kick in added time.

The win postponed Real Madrid’s almost inevitable LaLiga title celebrations for a couple of weeks as Carlo Ancelotti’s side sit atop the standings on 84 points.

Barcelona moved back to second in LaLiga on Monday with 73 points as they leapfrogged surprise package Girona, who are third with 71. Those two teams will meet in a Catalonia derby on Saturday.

2 – Robert Lewandowski became the first Barcelona striker since Samuel Eto’o against Mallorca in September 2005 to score two headed goals in a LaLiga match, and the oldest player to do so of any team in the 21st century (35 years and 252 days). Instinct. pic.twitter.com/AW1YXWCirC

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) April 29, 2024

Data debrief

Barcelona conceded two goals in the first half of a home game for the second time this season, after also doing so against Girona in LaLiga in December 2023.

However, Lewandowski’s goals have been invaluable to La Blaugrana this season as he’s earned 17 points with his 16 goals in the league.