In their last matchday, FC Barcelona managed to claw their way back to the top of La Liga’s table. Keeping the spot meant winning against their next rival, the hungry Villareal CF. The Valencian team is in the middle of a stellar season, beating out Atlético Madrid for third place in the standings. Winning against the leaders would help further strengthen the position, so Villareal came into the match eager to snatch the three points. Unfortunately for them, the game just happened to be one of Lamine Yamal’s best.
Villareal’s determination came through in the very first minutes of the game. They were the first team to note a goal-scoring opportunity, and the Valencian players spent the beginning steadily attacking Barcelona’s net. The Catalan team did not take the strikes lying down, though it took them a while to fall into the rhythm of the game.
A little less than half an hour after the first whistle, Villareal was preparing for yet another charge, only to lose the ball somewhere in the midfield. It ended up at the feet of Fermín López, who promptly passed it to the open Yamal. Barcelona’s star wasted no time before finally opening the score.
Conceding a goal did not lessen Villareal’s determination. The team pushed forward, making sure that Barcelona’s Joan García had his hands full. On the other side of the field, Yamal was itching for another commendable action. In the 37th minute, he was, once again, fed the ball by none other than Fermín. This time, the young player had to dribble past multiple Villareal defenders before getting the chance to shoot. Once he did, however, there was nothing Luiz Júnior could do.
Just like they had before, Villareal tried to find an answer, but could not finish an action in a way that would get them the contact goal. Before the break, they got uncomfortably close to conceding a third goal after Jules Koundé put the ball in their net. He was found to be offside, so the score remained at 2:0 for the home team.
As soon as the second half began, Barcelona was reminded that they should never rest on their laurels. No more than five minutes into the game, Villareal’s corner put the ball in their opponent’s penalty box. Chaos took over the Catalan defence. Instead of finding a way to push the danger away, the players lost control, giving Pape Gueye the perfect opportunity to score.
Invigorated by the success, Villareal continued pushing Barcelona. After García’s mistake, the team was faced with a chance to equalise the game, but Ayoze Pérez missed the empty net. Blaugrana also noted a few unfortunate misses. The most notable one came around the 60th minute when Lamine Yamal wasted a chance for a hat-trick.
That is not to say that the young player did not manage to get that coveted third goal. Pedri had been subbed onto the field at the beginning of the second half and quickly reminded all the Culers why he is such a valued player. He performed a beautiful, perfectly precise pass that ended up right by Yamal’s feet. From there, scoring the third goal was a matter of formality. Just like that, Barcelona’s star noted his first-ever hat-trick for the team.
Although Yamal was subbed off after his last goal, Barcelona was not done quite yet. Soon after six minutes were announced to have been added to the standard time, Pedri did what he does best and passed the ball to a well-placed Koundé. He, in turn, shot it towards the Polish striker, Robert Lewandowski, who put it past Villareal’s goalkeeper. The goal was initially deemed to have been offside, but the decision was then overturned, making the score 4:1.
What started as Barcelona’s less-than-perfect showing quickly turned into a game to remember. With the win, the team secured the top spot in La Liga’s standings, no matter what the result of Real Madrid’s Monday match will be. They now get to focus their efforts on preparing for the challenging second leg of the Copa del Ray semi-final.
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