Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski said he was proud of his team's performance in a 2-1 comeback win at Valencia in their La Liga season opener on Saturday, and he praised his side's youngsters who started in place of several injured players.
With Ilkay Gundogan, Pedri, Gavi, Ronald Araujo and Frenkie de Jong all out, new manager Hansi Flick gave 20-year-old academy midfielder Marc Casado his senior debut, playing alongside three 17-year-olds in Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsi and Marc Bernal.
New signing Dani Olmo is yet to be registered due to Barca's breach of Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.
Nevertheless, Barca showed enough strength to fight back and win thanks to a Lewandowski brace.
"It was very important to start with a win in such a difficult stadium and with the problems we faced," Lewandowski told Movistar Plus.
"We didn't play well for the first 20 to 25 minutes. In the first half, we had problems to get close to their box. Then we started playing much better and we did it with three or four very young players.
"If you can win like this with such young players it is something special and they have shown a big potential. There were no signs of lack of experience, they played very well with possession and without the ball. We could have won by a bigger margin, but it's great to start the season with a win."
Barca were dominated by their hosts early in the match and fell behind when Valencia's Hugo Duro netted a close-range header in the 44th minute.
The visitors hit back quickly, however, scoring either side of half-time through the Poland striker who tapped home Yamal's cross deep into added time before the break and fired an unstoppable penalty into the top corner after Raphinha was fouled just after the interval.
Valencia dominated proceedings early and Rafa Mir was inches from scoring for the locals with two diving headers in the first few minutes, while Cubarsi almost netted two own goals while trying to deflect efforts by Andre Almeida and Diego Lopez.
One minute after Duro gave Valencia the lead, however, Cubarsi made an astonishing goalline clearance to deny Valencia a quick second when Mir had already beaten goalkeeper Marc Andre ter Stegen. That kept Barca in the game, paving the way for Lewandowski's double.
The Pole's first goal was a result of a fine collective effort with Alejandro Balde delivering a long cross from the left touchline to the back post to meet 17-year-old Yamal, who turned the ball back along the six-yard box with a single touch, leaving Lewandowski with a simple tap-in.
In the second minute of the second half, defender Cristhian Mosquera tripped Raphinha inside the box, gifting a penalty to Barcelona which Lewandowski fired into the top corner.
With Barca in front, the momentum of the game changed completely and the visitors had several chances to extend their lead against a Valencia side who appeared unable to find the spark to fight back.
New manager Flick said he expects Gundogan to stay this season after reports linked the midfielder with a move away from the club. The 33-year-old Germany international is in the final year of his Barcelona contract, having joined from Manchester City in 2023.
