Barcelona player ratings v Valencia: Lewandowski and Pedri 8, Dembele 6

Injury-time goal from Polish striker sends Barca top of La Liga

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  BARCELONA PLAYER RATINGS: Marc-Andre Ter Stegen – 6. Faced veteran Cavani (who lasted 17 minutes) in an otherwise young Valencia side in front of 44,000. Despite the frenetic game, he didn’t have a busy night as he kept another clean sheet. Getty

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  Alejandro Balde – 7. Switched to right back and solid as the two central defenders to his left went off injury. Exceptional this season. Getty

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  Jules Kounde – 7. Read a 41st minute Valencia attack perfectly to stop it. Went down clutching his left hamstring after 71. A shame as he’s settled into the side. Getty

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  Eric Garcia – 6. Booked for a tackle on Marcos Andre, but otherwise calm in a chaotic first half. Off injured – the first of both full-backs to go off injured, giving Xavi Hernandez a serious headache. Getty

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  Jordi Alba – 6. Rare start against his former club, he made hard challenges throughout against a brave Valencia side. Helped his side to 68 per cent of possession. EPA

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  Pedri – 8. Super run and then pass to Gavi on 69 as Barca tried to get ahead. Set up Torres on 84. He should have had an assist for that. Started the move which led to Barca’s goal. AFP

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  Sergio Busquets – 6. Man-marked, but his side still had the most possession. Off after 55. Getty

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  Frenkie De Jong – 7. Sliced a shot wide after 27 as he helped his side control the early game. Had a shot blocked on 43, then remonstrated with the referee as angry Valencia players lashed out at their opponents. Two shots, two key passes. AP

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  Ansu Fati – 6. Ran in front of a defender to take Barca’s first chance of the match after seven minutes. He put the ball in the net on 22, but was offside taking the ball. He got into good positions but went too early and was offside. Left in space on 36 but lacked killer instinct in front of goal. EPA

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  Robert Lewandowski – 8. Peripheral until the 93rd minute when he scored his 13th of the season, stretching to meet a cross and place the ball inside the far post. Turned a draw into a win. Celebrated like he’d won a cup. EPA

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  Ousmane Dembele – 6. In and out of the game, but Barca’s main attacks in the first half came via him on the right. AP

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  SUBS: Marcos Alonso (Garcia 42’) – 6. Booked within three minutes of coming on. AP

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  Ferran Torres (Fati 67’) – 7. The former Valencia man missed the best chance of the game on 84. Booked amid angry and frustrated scenes after the goal. Gave his shirt to a fan after. Getty

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  Gavi (Busquets 67’) – 7. Involved and tenacious as ever. Booked. AP

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  Raphinha (Dembele 67’) – 8. Played on his preferred right. Nearly had a tap-in on 65 as the game became ill tempered. Followed up on Torres’ miss, but dropping a ball into Lewandowksi was the most important thing he did all week. “We were calm,” he said at the end. AP

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  Gerard Pique (Koounde 73’) – 6. Was barely warmed up when he came on for the injured Kounde. The third Barcelona central defender get a yellow card for a tackle on Marcos Andre. EPA

Robert Lewandowski scored a 93rd-minute winner as Barcelona beat Valencia 1-0 on Saturday to take provisional top spot level on points with Real Madrid in La Liga.

With the match heading for what seemed like a goalless draw, Raphinha looped a cross into the box which was acrobatically stabbed home by a stretching Lewandowski for the Polish striker's 13th league goal of the season.

The result means Barca have 31 points after 12 games, the same as Real who host second-bottom Girona on Sunday.

Barcelona created many opportunities in the first half but Valencia's rearguard stood firm, with goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili denying Ansu Fati while Lewandowski also saw a header come off the post.

The home side were dealt a major blow with 18 minutes on the clock when their top scorer Edinson Cavani, who had netted the club's four goals in their last three matches, came off with an ankle injury.

Valencia's Samuel Lino thought he had opened the scoring four minutes into the second half and the Mestalla crowd erupted, but the referee chalked it off following a VAR check as Marcos Andre had touched the cross with his hand.

Barca's Ferran Torres had a glorious chance to score against his former club but he failed to make good contact with the ball from a few metres out. However, Lewandowski's goal minutes later ensured Xavi Hernandez's side came away with all three points.

Andy Mitten provides the player ratings from the Mestalla in the photo gallery above. To move on to the next photo, click n the arrows, or swipe if using a mobile device.