Five key stats from Villarreal 0-1 Barcelona

Barcelona continued their fine run of results as they secured an important 1-0 win over Villarreal away at Estadio de la Ceramica on Sunday night.

The Catalan giants got across the line thanks to a first-half goal from midfield jewel Pedri. The 20-year-old had been constantly urged by his manager Xavi Hernandez to shoot more and score more goals and the advice is paying off in a huge way for the club.

Sunday’s goal meant that Pedri has now scored six goals in La Liga this season from 21 matches.

With his six goals, Pedri has won as many as ten points for Barcelona in La Liga this season – the most by any player in 2022/23, along with Real Betis star Borja Iglesias (10 points with nine goals).

On top of his six strikes in the league, Pedri also has netted once in the Spanish Super Cup, taking his tally to seven across competitions.

Only Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham (10) has scored more goals than Pedri in all competitions among all midfielders from the top five European leagues under the age of 21.

Meanwhile, Sunday night’s triumph over Villarreal was Barcelona’s seventh win by a 1-0 scoreline in 21 games in La Liga 2022/23, equalling their highest total in a full season in the history of the competition (7 in 44 games in 1986/87, and 7 in 42 games in 1995/96 and 1996/97).

The victory also meant that Xavi has now equalled Pep Guardiola’s best winning streak at Barcelona across all competitions: 11 victories in a row. The Catalans are now on a 16-game unbeaten run.

In the process, Xavi has also become the first manager in the history of FC Barcelona to lose only one of his first 25 away matches in La Liga – the 3-1 loss to Real Madrid in October last year.