Barcelona’s newest signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a hat-trick as his side faced Valencia at the Mestalla on Sunday.
The Blaugrana were at their brilliant best as they grabbed an emphatic 4-1 victory against Los Che.
Aubameyang who was making his first full start in Barcelona colours scored the first goal of the game at the Mestalla.
The Gabonese showed off his nice ball control before rifling a shot into the back of the net.
Frenkie de Jong soon grabbed Barcelona’s second from the near post which was closely followed by a third from Aubameyang as he grabbed his brace.
However, the match was far from over as the hosts pulled one back in the early stages of the second half through Carlos Soler.
Second-half substitute Pedri rounded off the scoring for the visitors with a fine strike from outside the penalty area.
The goal was initially credited to the Spaniard, however, on close inspection of the goal, the ball was adjudged to have grazed the back of Aubameyang and he was awarded his hat-trick.
How did Aubameyang react to his Mestalla hat-trick?
Speaking after the match at the Mestalla, Aubameyang admitted he was happy with his hat-trick but even more so because the team won.
“I am very happy and very happy but above all because we have won the game,” the former Arsenal striker said.
“The last time I played here I scored a hat-trick with Arsenal, so you could say that Mestalla is like my home.”
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Indeed Aubameyang scored four goals for Arsenal against Valencia across two games in their Europa League semifinal tie in 2019.
He scored once in a 3-1 win at the Emirates before scoring a hat-trick at the Mestalla to send Arsenal into the Europa League final.
“I think we’ve played well in the last few games, and only the result was missing, but today we played well and won,” he added.
“It’s important for the group, and now it’s time to push on because we have an important game on Thursday.
“It’s the best way to approach the game and we’re ready to win the game.”
Aubameyang seems to be enjoying his football at Barcelona after his ugly transfer to the Spanish giants from Arsenal in the winter transfer window.
The 32-year-old did not play much football after he was stripped of the Arsenal captaincy last year for disciplinary breaches and was subsequently dropped from the squad.
Aubameyang was also unable to feature for his country in the Africa Cup of Nations. He was diagnosed to have some Covid-19 after-effects which affected his heart.
However, he has now bounced back with the intention of proving what an absolute bargain he is to have been signed on a free transfer.
What does the win mean for Barcelona?
Having remained unbeaten in their last nine league games, the win takes Barcelona into fourth place in the La Liga standings.
It is also a big morale boost for Barca who will face Napoli in the return leg of the Europa League playoffs.
The Blaugrana fought back from a goal down to secure a 1-1 draw in the first leg at the Camp Nou.
Both sides have everything to play for when they meet in Naples on Thursday.
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