Villarreal 0-1 Barcelona: Match Review

The chance to go eleven points clear of their competition was on the line when Barcelona took on Villarreal on Sunday night. The clash became even more crucial considering the scheduled midweek clash against Manchester United and the need for momentum.

Xavi did not opt for many rotations in Villarreal and made just one change in defence, with Alejandro Balde coming in for Jordi Alba.

Franck Kessie replaced the injured Sergio Busquets in the lineup and started in midfield with Frenkie de Jong and Pedri. Gavi, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha completed the starting lineup.

Kickoff at La Ceramica instantly brought serious action with it. Barcelona dominated the opening exchanges of the match and did not need more than three minutes to break down the hosts’ resistance.

Just over 120 seconds in, Pedri’s through-ball played Robert Lewandowski free in front of the goal. The Pole’s first touch was good, but the resulting shot lacked venom, giving Pepe Reina enough to redirect.

In the minutes that followed, the clash evened out. Barcelona’s high press helped them maintain a slight upper hand, but Villarreal were always in the equation.

A special Pedri goal broke the deadlock in the 18th minute and helped the visitors take the lead at the Ceramica.

The move stemmed from a Jules Kounde recovery, quickly moved by de Jong and Raphinha to Pedri. At the edge of the area, the protege played a one-touch pass to Lewy, who returned the favour, eliminating the defence in the process. Up against Reina, Pedri made no mistake and rattled the back of the net.

Immediately after scoring, however, Barcelona slackened out defensively. Morales had a lovely chance to restore parity for the Yellow Submarines in the 19th minute but wasted his opportunity.

Lewandowski had a well-worked but weak shot saved in the 26th minute, but Villarreal slowly took over from this point in the half. In the next 15 minutes, the hosts had three chances to open the scoring, the biggest of which came in the closing minutes.

A defensive mess-up saw Morales drive towards the goal unchallenged, with only Ter Stegen to beat. Having an equaliser on his platter, he hit the side netting and gave Xavi a sigh of relief.

At half-time, Barcelona boasted a 1-0 lead that well reflected the first half played at the Ceramica – nervy, but only one superior side.

The first big chance of the second half came in the 55th minute when Lewandowski’s lofted shot just cleared the top of the crossbar. Ronald Araujo then came up with a clutch clearance at the hour mark to do away with Yeremi’s clear-cut chance to equalise.

The hour mark signalled another change in dynamic, and Xavi’s men took over as the primary creators once again. Raphinha and Pedri both came close to scoring in a span of five minutes but were both unable to bury their chances.

Ferran Torres replaced Raphinha in the 80th minute in the team’s first substitution of the game.

Barcelona hung onto their narrow lead deep into the game off the back of a number of critical defensive actions by Ronald Araujo.

The hosts dominated the final spell of the game, however, and created a fair number of clear chances. At the same time, the Catalans maintained their high press and often caught Setien’s side on the counter, albeit to no use.

Kessie came off for Jordi Alba in the 88th minute.

Villarreal equalised 60 seconds later, but Chukwueze’s moment was stolen from him because of an offside movement of Yeremy Pino before his assist.

Barcelona recorded their sixth straight win at the full-time whistle and went eleven points clear of Real Madrid. They will play next at Spotify Camp Nou midweek when they take on Manchester United in the Europa League.