Fermin Lopez Shines in Barcelona's Victory Against Valencia

At Mestalla, Fermin Lopez didn’t just keep his hot streak going. He detonated it.

The Barcelona midfielder, already off to a flying start this season, produced the kind of all‑action display against Valencia that turns a promising run into a statement. A goal, two assists, a defence-splitting pass in the build-up to Lamine Yamal’s disallowed strike, and a shot thudding off the post after a slaloming run. Every time Barcelona surged forward with any real menace, Fermin’s fingerprints were on the move.

This comes on top of a brace against Elche and a goal against Athletic Bilbao. The numbers are piling up. So is the influence.

By the final whistle, there was no debate. He walked away as man of the match, his performance the clearest sign yet that he intends to be a central pillar in Hansi Flick’s new Barcelona.

Fermin forces the issue

Spanish newspaper AS reports that Fermin has now racked up three starts after beginning the campaign on the bench against Rayo Vallecano. That feels like a lifetime ago. Right now, he has nudged himself in front of Dani Olmo in the fight for the playmaker role.

That battle is real. And it is fierce.

Fermin’s form makes him almost undroppable. He is playing with a sharpness and conviction that demands selection. Flick knows it. The dressing room knows it. Leaving him out, in this kind of rhythm, would be a brutal call.

Yet Olmo has hardly faded into the background. He reminded everyone of his class with two assists in just ten minutes, a burst of quality that underlined why he was signed to be a difference-maker in this team. The dilemma for Flick is obvious: two players, one role, both performing.

For a coach, though, this is the kind of headache you welcome. Having both Fermin and Olmo firing gives Barcelona a level of creative depth they have badly needed in recent seasons. The internal competition is sharp, and it is already pushing standards higher.

From summer pain to autumn surge

Behind Fermin’s explosive start lies a tougher chapter.

He came into the summer on a high after winning the Spanish league title, only to see everything stall. An injury at the end of last season cost him a place at the World Cup, turning what should have been a dream call-up into a painful what-if.

"I went through an extremely difficult time, and I could not watch the first matches because of the pain I was feeling," Fermin admitted, laying bare just how hard the setback hit him.

Instead of sinking, he went to work. The summer became a grind of recovery, training, and rebuilding. He came back not just fit, but burning. The passion is obvious in every sprint, every press, every late run into the box.

Now, with the season still young, he has turned that frustration into fuel. He is not just back in the team. He is shaping it.

If this is only the beginning of Fermin Lopez’s response to that lost World Cup, Barcelona – and Hansi Flick – may be looking at the emergence of their next indispensable star.