The Gabonese forward had failed to open his account for the Catalans in the three matches he played previously. However, Aubameyang was on fire against Los Murcielagos, scoring twice in the first half and adding a third in the final half an hour.
Speaking after the match, Busquets lauded the striker’s impact and said (as quoted by Barca Blaugranes):
The Spaniard also praised Barcelona’s performance, adding:
Busquets concluded:
Barcelona will be high on confidence ahead of crucial Napoli clash
The win against Valencia took Barcelona back into the top-four of La Liga. They now occupy the final UEFA Champions League spot with 42 points from 24 matches. Xavi Hernandez’s side are just four points off Real Betis in third with a game in hand.
More importantly, their performance finally displayed glimpses of what Xavi is trying to achieve with this new-look Blaugrana side. While it was only against a 12th-placed Valencia side, a convincing victory will give the Catalans plenty of confidence moving forward.
Their immediate challenge now is the second leg of the UEFA Europa League Round of 32 against Napoli. Barcelona travel to Naples after a 1-1 draw at the Nou Camp. They will need an outright win in Italy to progress through to the next round as the away-goal rule has been scrapped.
Xavi’s troops will return to league action after the match against Napoli and will take on Athletic Bilbao at the San Mames on February 27.
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