The Blaugrana were without Lamine Yamal, who suffered an injury while on international duty with Spain, for their first official men's first-team match to be played at the Estadi Johan Cruyff, with Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski benched by Hansi Flick.
Marcus Rashford, who was named in the starting XI, was heavily involved from the start and had two half-chances in the early stages.
As the hosts continued to pile on the pressure, ex-Valencia man Ferran Torres was a whisker away from the opening goal with an intelligent chip that ended up on the roof of the net.
Efforts from Roony Bardghji and Fermin Lopez were two more of the seven shots at goal Barcelona managed in the opening 15 minutes alone, whilst Los Che were reduced to hitting long balls up to Hugo Duro.
Despite having the lion’s share of possession, the hosts were finding it difficult to gain an advantage thanks to a stubborn performance from Carlos Corberan’s side, for whom Mouctar Diakhaby was particularly impressive.
Nevertheless, just before the half-hour mark, a sensational touch from Ferran set Fermin free to finish expertly from a tight angle.
That was the cue for some more expansive play from Barça, and they remained in the ascendancy as half-time approached.
During injury time, Eric Garcia’s appalling back pass almost cost the hosts, but Pau Cubarsi was in the right place at the right time to sweep up at the back and deny Duro the chance to get his shot away.
A sweeping Barca move early in the second half almost brought the second goal, but Ferran only succeeded in hitting the woodwork when well placed.
Rashford’s dynamism in possession wasn’t reflected in his final ball until sub Raphinha latched onto the England man’s exquisite pass to give the hosts a two-goal cushion.
Within three minutes, a thunderbolt from Fermin made the game safe for Barca, and that saw Valencia undertake a much more defensive outlook for the remainder of the match.
With 25 minutes still to play, Raphinha buried a ferocious drive for the second brace of the game, and he went close again soon with Jose Gaya backpedalling.
Belatedly, the visitors attempted to get going in an attacking sense, but left themselves open at the back. Lewandowski soon made his mark after coming on, smashing home a fifth from Dani Olmo’s assist, and with five minutes to go, the Polish international broke the offside trap to chip home a sixth.
The win means Hansi Flick’s side continued their impressive home league record in 2025 (W10, D1, L1), whilst Corberan will want an immediate response from Los Che after they only managed to have two shots in the game.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Fermin Lopez (Barcelona)
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