Robert Lewandowski scores twice as Barcelona beats Valencia 2-1 in debut of coach Hansi Flick

MADRID (AP) — Robert Lewandowski scored late in the first half and early in the second to give Barcelona a winning start in coach Hansi Flick's Spanish league debut.

The goals by Lewandowski gave the Catalan club a 2-1 win at Valencia in its opening league match on Saturday.

It was Flick's first official match in charge after he replaced former club great Xavi Hernández at the end of last season.

“It was very important to debut with a victory," Flick said. “We made some mistakes in the first half but we improved in the second.”

Valencia opened the scoring with a header by Hugo Duro in the 44th, but Barcelona rallied with goals by Lewandowski in first-half stoppage time and four minutes into the second half.

“The goal at the end of the first half was very important,” Flick said.

Duro’s goal was initially disallowed for offside, but video review determined it should stand.

Lewandowski’s first goal came after an assist from teenager Lamine Yamal, whose father was stabbed on Wednesday after an altercation near Barcelona. Mounir Nasraoui had to be hospitalized but his injuries were not life-threatening.

The 35-year-old Lewandowski gave Barcelona the lead by converting a 49th-minute penalty kick after forward Raphinha was fouled inside the area.

“My objective is to score goals. It's important to start the season like this to give us more confidence,” Lewandowski said.

Flick used several players from Barcelona's famed La Masia youth academy, including Gerard Martín and 17-year-old Marc Bernal. Both made their first-team debut.

Barcelona defender Alejandro Balde had to be substituted in the second half because of an apparent muscle injury.

Barcelona, still struggling financially, finished second in the league last season, 10 points behind champion Real Madrid.

Madrid opens its league season on Sunday at Mallorca.

Promoted Leganes marked its return to the first division with a 1-1 draw at Osasuna.

The visitors opened the scoring through Juan Cruz in the 22nd before an own goal by Juan Soriano evened the score in the 79th.

Leganes had spent the last four seasons in the lower tier before winning the second division to earn promotion.

The club is owned by former Houston Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow, whose Blue Crow Sports Group has included investors from the United States, Mexico, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Canada.

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Valencia's Cristhian Mosquera, centre, heads the ball as Barcelona's Raphinha challenges during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Valencia and FC Barcelona at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia, Spain, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Valencia's Yarek Gasiorowski reacts during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Valencia and FC Barcelona at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia, Spain, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Valencia's Thierry Correia, right, walks as Barcelona's team players celebrate after the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Valencia and FC Barcelona at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia, Spain, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Barcelona's Lamine Yamal, centre, and Valencia's Jesus Vazquez, centre left, challenge for the ball during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Valencia and FC Barcelona at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia, Spain, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Valencia's Hugo Duro, centre, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Valencia and FC Barcelona at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia, Spain, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski scores his side's second goal by a penalty shot during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Valencia and FC Barcelona at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia, Spain, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Valencia and FC Barcelona at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia, Spain, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, right, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's second goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Valencia and FC Barcelona at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia, Spain, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Barcelona's team players celebrate after Robert Lewandowski scored his side's first goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Valencia and FC Barcelona at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia, Spain, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski scores his side's second goal by a penalty shot during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Valencia and FC Barcelona at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia, Spain, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington expects manager Derek Shelton to return next season.

Cherington said Wednesday that Shelton remains “the right person to manage this team in 2025” despite an August swoon that dropped the Pirates out of postseason contention.

“I think there’s a lot to the job I believe he does really, really well and I also believe he works his tail off to continue to improve in a number of ways,” Cherington said.

Shelton is 288-404 (.415) in nearly five full seasons in Pittsburgh, which swept a three-game series from Miami on Wednesday.

The Pirates hoped to take another step forward in 2024 behind rookie pitchers Paul Skenes and Jared Jones. While they were above .500 and in the middle of the wild-card race at the July 30 trade deadline, Pittsburgh has slumped down the stretch and is on pace to finish with around 76 wins, right where the franchise was in 2023.

Still, Shelton sees progress.

“We’re in a definite, much better spot than we have (been) in the last two years with our starting pitching,” Shelton said Wednesday. “We’re deeper than we have been. We need to continue to build some things offensively and continue to grow that depth.”

Cherington hired Shelton in November 2019 to handle the major league roster as Cherington began a top-down overhaul of the organization. The steps back toward relevance have been difficult. The Pirates finished last in the NL Central in each of Shelton's first three seasons as Cherington traded away veterans like Joe Musgrove and Josh Bell while restocking the minor league system.

The team upped its record to 76-86 a year ago and 2023 top overall pick Skenes' arrival in the majors in mid-May gave the franchise the kind of buzz it has lacked since reaching the playoffs three straight years from 2013-15.

While Skenes has dazzled — he is 10-2 with a 2.10 ERA through 20 starts — the bullpen has been a mess and the lineup has struggled to produce regularly. The Pirates are near the bottom of the National League in every major offensive category, including runs (11th), home runs (13th) and on-base plus slugging percentage.

Though Cherington endorsed Shelton, he was less committed to the rest of the coaching staff. Hitting coach Andy Haines' job status is likely up in the air with runs continuing to be hard to come by.

“We will get to the end of the season and have an opportunity to look at the entire (coaching) group and decide, again consistent with the point about faster improvement and more improvement, if any adjustments are necessary to give ourselves a better chance to do that,” Cherington said.

The Pirates already have started making changes to the scouting department, though Cherington declined to call it an “overhaul.”

The major league roster remains a work in progress. The team moved 6-foot-7 shortstop Oneil Cruz to center field earlier this month after he struggled defensively. Third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes is dealing with back problems that limited his power. They currently have three catchers under control for next year — 2021 top overall pick Henry Davis, Endy Rodriguez and Joey Bart — and a glaring need at first base if they don't re-sign Rowdy Tellez, who has rebounded from a slow start.

Designated hitter Andrew McCutchen, who on Tuesday night reached the 20-homer plateau for the 10th time in his career, wants to come back next season and Cherington is optimistic that will happen.

“We would love to find a way for Andrew to finish his career in a Pirates uniform,” Cherington said.

Still, McCutchen is one piece of a complicated puzzle.

“(We) believe the team is better than it was last year and (it's still) not good enough,” Cherington said. "We need to make it better. There’s no one thing that’s going to do that. There are lots of things that are going to do that. We’re responsible for delivering and we’ll keep focused on that.”

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Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton reacts in the dugout during the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals in Pittsburgh, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)