Villarreal Lose To Barcelona, Despite Resilience

 

Barcelona fought hard to secure a 2-0 victory at Villarreal's Estadio de la Ceramica, despite playing a 10-man host for most of the game time. 

Villarreal came into the game on the backdrop of two consecutive defeats in their previous games. They were eliminated from the Copa del Rey by Racing in the past week. They fell one man down following the elimination of Renato Veiga for his tackle on Lamine Yamal. 

Early into the game, Raphinha opened the scoring from a penalty drawn from Santi Comesana's tackle inside the box. The Brazilian striker converted the spot kick, and Barcelona took the lead. In the lead-up to Veiga's dismissal, Villarreal had their only goal ruled out when Jules Kounde slide-footed home Sergi Cardona's cross. 

The second goal came off a buildup inspired by Yamal. The striker cut in from the right, playing in Frenkie de Jong, who was unable to finish the ball. The situation was rowdy inside the box until the loose ball landed on the youngster's foot. He gestured for a pass from de Jong and struck a low-cut volley into the back of the net. 

It turned out to be Barcelona's eighth consecutive La Liga win, extending their front row lead of the table with four points clear of the nearest rivals, Real Madrid. 

Overview 

Having to play one man down against Barcelona spelled doom for Villarreal. Nevertheless, they were able to make up for the deficit by increasing their pace. Commendable goalkeeping from Joan Garcia. Players like Nicolas Pepe were prominent in the first half. 

Villareal quickly switched up on the offensive shortly after Lamal's goal, repelling Barcelona's dominance and making close-shaved efforts that forced multiple saves from the keeper. Marin's forward overlapping also helped pile pressure on Barce. His presence in the box almost paved the way to a goal in the 68th minute. 

Barcelona maintained composure in the face of pressure and had to play deep into their own half to keep the status quo. In the closing minutes, they gradually waned their hosts' aggression, which technically would pay off, but a touchline stoppage of a goal-bound effort assisted by Frenkie de Jong.