September 8: Mourinho's Title Challenge Becomes More Difficult? Barcelona Win Four Straight, Score 17 and Concede 2, 19-Year-Old Talent Has Evolved

Another storm has swept through La Liga, as Barcelona crushed Valencia 5-0 away from home.

In this round of La Liga, Barcelona traveled away to face former league champions Valencia. Time has passed, and Valencia's former glory has faded, with the club now hovering in the middle and lower part of the table. Against a powerful Barcelona side, even home advantage could not hide their struggles, and they eventually suffered a 0-5 defeat. This emphatic victory also gave Barcelona a four-match winning streak in the new La Liga season.

Although a UEFA Champions League clash was approaching just days later, head coach Flick did not choose to rotate his squad in this league match. He still fielded a front three of Yamal, Raphinha and Gordon, while Rodri, Fermin and Pedri controlled the midfield. This starting lineup almost removed any suspense from the match in advance.

Events unfolded as expected. Just a few minutes after kickoff, Yamal received a precise cross from a teammate inside the penalty area and scored with an impressive outside-of-the-foot chip shot, leaving the home goalkeeper unable to react. After that, the match became completely one-sided, and Fermin quickly seized an opportunity to extend the lead, making it 2-0.

After the restart, Raphinha made an aggressive forward run early in the second half and scored from a follow-up effort, further strengthening Barcelona's advantage. Later, Pedri and Yamal also scored respectively, and Barcelona ended the match with a convincing five-goal victory.

This victory marked Barcelona's fourth consecutive La Liga win, making them the only team currently maintaining a perfect record. Even more impressive, Barcelona have scored 17 goals across their four matches, averaging more than four goals per game, displaying remarkable attacking power. At the same time, Barcelona's defense has also been solid, conceding only two goals in four matches. Whether in attack or defense, Barcelona can be considered among the best in La Liga this season, which undoubtedly presents a major challenge for Mourinho after his return to managing Real Madrid.

Looking at the performances in the first four league rounds, the gap between Real Madrid and Barcelona is clear. Although Real Madrid scored four goals in home matches against Real Sociedad and Malaga, their away performances against Espanyol and Real Betis were more ordinary. In particular, they lost 0-1 away to Real Betis in this round, failing to score. After four matches, Real Madrid have scored only 10 goals, and considering their star-studded attacking lineup, this scoring efficiency has clearly fallen short of expectations.

Barcelona's biggest highlight this season is undoubtedly Yamal's rapid development. In the match against Valencia, Yamal scored once in each half, and his total number of goals in the first four league matches of the season has reached four. Compared with last season, his attacking efficiency has improved significantly. The most notable change for the 19-year-old superstar this season is that he is appearing more frequently inside the opponent's penalty area. He is no longer satisfied with only making breakthroughs from the wing, but has begun to show a level of influence similar to Messi in his prime. He has started taking more responsibility for both creation and finishing, which has directly translated into a significant increase in his goal tally.

As Yamal continues to mature, Barcelona's attacking power has become increasingly intimidating. With midfield maestros such as Rodri and Pedri controlling the game, the current Barcelona side is stronger than in the previous two seasons. Mourinho's timing appears somewhat unfortunate, as his rare return to managing Real Madrid has coincided with facing a Barcelona team that could become a 'super team'. This season, Real Madrid's task of competing for the league title may be considerably more difficult than in the previous two campaigns.