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Barcelona's Lamine Yamal struck twice in the first half to help deliver a commanding 4-1 win at Girona on Sunday that extended their perfect start to the LaLiga season with a fifth consecutive win.
Yamal gave Barca a two-goal lead with strikes in the 30th and 37th minutes while Dani Olmo extended their advantage right after the break with a first-time effort from close range.
Pedri scored the fourth with a tap-in in the 64th minute while Girona substitute Cristhian Stuani netted a consolation goal in the 80th, six minutes before Barca were reduced to 10 men when forward Ferran Torres was given a straight red card for a nasty studs-up challenge on Yaser Asprilla.
Hansi Flick's Barcelona top the LaLiga standings with 15 points, four ahead of Real Madrid and Villarreal. Girona are seventh on seven points.
"It was clear for us that we had to start the season well," Pedri told Movistar Plus.
"Coach Flick insisted with us about that in the close season, that from the very first moment we had to push hard because that's how you win leagues, distancing ourselves from our rivals from the start."
It was another dominant performance by Flick's impressive Barcelona who outplayed Girona throughout the match and could have won by a wider margin.
Girona looked overwhelmed in the face of Barca's relentless high-press which caused the home side's defenders to make several mistakes, gifting Barca opportunities.
David Lopez made a schoolboy error when he was pressured by teenager Yamal who stole the ball cleanly on the edge of the box before firing an unstoppable strike past the goalkeeper.
Barca kept pushing and Yamal extended their lead, slotting home a rebound from a free kick just inside the post.
Barca were commanding and working like a well oiled machine, frustrating almost every Girona effort to counter and not allowing the opposition to break the lines with forward passes into pockets of space.
They extended their lead a minute after the break when Jules Kounde delivered a long pass through that Olmo took in his stride, bursting into the box before unleashing a bullet strike past the goalkeeper.
Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga made a string of saves to deny efforts by Robert Lewandowski and Yamal but there was little he could do to stop Pedri from scoring the fourth.
Substitute Marc Casado fired a pass through the middle that found Pedri unmarked as he ghosted behind the defence before running past the goalkeeper and tapping the ball into the empty net.
Stuani's close-range finish and Torres's red-card didn't change the script and Barca could have scored another with Casado missing a sitter in added time.
Barca will now turn their attention to the Champions League as they prepare to visit Monaco on Thursday.
Atletico cruise to win over struggling Valencia
Atletico Madrid cruised to a convincing 3-0 home win over bottom side Valencia on Sunday in LaLiga thanks to goals from Conor Gallagher, Antoine Griezmann and Julian Alvarez.
Marcos Llorente and Samuel Lino went close in the first half before Atletico took the lead in the 39th minute when new signing Gallagher finished into the bottom corner after latching on to a delightful pass from Rodrigo De Paul that was slipped through the legs of defender Cristhian Mosquera.
Alexander Sorloth, another summer signing for Diego Simeone's revamped side, also created a couple of dangerous chances only to be denied by goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili.
Valencia fought hard for an equaliser, with Javi Guerra's long-range effort going wide, but they were unable to prevent Griezmann from finding the net after Lino's header fell into his path nine minutes after the break.
Another new recruit, Alvarez, put the icing on the cake with his first goal in the Spanish top flight after joining from Manchester City, when he slotted home Rodrigo Riquelme's cross in the 93rd minute.
"I didn't feel any pressure (to score), I simply say that the goal happens as a result of the game and you have to be prepared for when the opportunity comes," Alvarez told Spanish TV.
"We're doing well as a group, we're getting off to a good start. Now we have Champions League games coming up and we have to keep working to keep this momentum going," he added.
Atletico, who are unbeaten this season, moved into second place, level on 11 points with Real Madrid and four behind leaders Barcelona. They face RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Thursday.
Inter drop to second after draw at Monza
Champions Inter Milan were knocked off the Serie A summit on Sunday after they came from behind to play out a surprise 1-1 draw at lowly Monza.
Monza took the lead in the 81st minute through substitute forward Dany Mota, who headed the ball into the top corner before Denzel Dumfries levelled for Inter in the 88th from close range.
Inter, who drew at Genoa in their season opener followed by wins against Lecce and Atalanta, dropped to second in the table with eight points after four games.
They are one point behind Napoli, who beat Cagliari 4-0 earlier on Sunday.
Simone Inzaghi's men next travel to Manchester City on Wednesday to kick off their Champions League campaign before they host AC Milan in the league next Sunday.
There were no early signs of trouble for Inter, who were patiently building play from the back, controlling the pace of the game.
Lautaro Martinez should have put them in front inside the opening 10 minutes, when he received a perfect cross from Federico Dimarco.
His header from the centre of the box, however, sailed slightly above bar before Dimarco and Davide Frattesi also had their chances early on.
But Monza's calm defence did not leave the visitors much space and they went on to earn a shock lead as Mota nodded home from a neat lofted cross from Armando Izzo.
Inter intensified their efforts and defender Dumfries equalised with first touch two minutes from time, tapping a low cross from Carlos Augusto, but lacked time to find a winner.
Monza, who drew with Empoli and Fiorentina either side of their home loss to Genoa, are 15th with three points.
They still await first win under new coach and former Milan defender Alessandro Nesta as they are now winless in their last 13 Serie A games, the longest ongoing run of any side currently in the top flight.
Napoli move to Serie A summit with win at Cagliari
Napoli went top of Serie A with 4-0 victory at Cagliari on Sunday, thanks to goals from Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Romelu Lukaku and Alessandro Buongiorno.
After beginning the season with a shock loss to Hellas Verona, Antonio Conte's side have secured three consecutive wins.
Napoli took the lead with a fortuitous shot from Di Lorenzo, whose attempt from outside the box deflected off Cagliari defender Yerry Mina and rolled into the far corner after 18 minutes.
The match was suspended for several minutes in the first half after fans from both sides threw objects at each other and fireworks onto the field.
Cagliari launched several attacks in the early part of the second half, but Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret made several impressive saves to maintain his side's lead.
In the 66th minute, Lukaku’s through ball set up Kvaratskhelia for a second goal, and the Belgian striker added a third four minutes later following a defensive error.
Deep into stoppage time, Buongiorno headed in the fourth goal from a corner to give the visitors all three points.
