Barcelona under Xavi Hernandez managed to win 3-1 over Villarreal in the LaLiga Santander.
Barcelona appeared on the fifteenth matchday of the LaLiga Santander against the host Villarreal at the Estadio de la Ceramica, Saturday (27/11).
This is the second match for the new Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez in the LaLiga Santander. In his debut match, Xavi managed to bring Barcelona to a 1-0 win over Espanyol.
Now, Xavi also managed to achieve his second victory after Barcelona won 3-1 over Villarreal.
The game has just started and Barcelona has already made a surprise. In the 5th minute, Depay’s corner was met by Azzalzouli’s powerful header, but it was still Rulli who made a brilliant save.
Barcelona continued to pound at the start of the match and got two consecutive chances in the 8th and 10th minutes. Depay’s shot went wide, Gavi did too. The score 0-0 is quite surprising.
In the 20th minute, Depay got his best chance. He accepted De Jong’s pass and stayed face to face with the opposing goalkeeper, unfortunately Depay’s shot went wide.
Until the 30th minute, Villarreal did not really fight Barcelona. There were some counter-attacks, but Villarreal’s final pass was poor. Even though Barcelona’s defense looked distraught.
The 39th minute, Villarreal get an open opportunity in the penalty box. Unfortunately Danjuma’s touch control was poor, the ball slipped from his feet.
No goals until the end of the first 45 minutes. The score 0-0 took the players to the locker room.
Barcelona finally broke the deadlock early in the second half. Alba sent a cross into the middle of the penalty box, Depay met it with a close-range shot.
Rulli parried the ball, but fell in front of Frenkie de Jong who came from behind. Goal! Villarreal 0-1 Barcelona.
The linesman raised the offside flag, but VAR checks proved that De Jong was onside. Goals passed, Barcelona ahead early in the second half.
Superior does not make Barcelona eager to give the finishing blow. On the other hand, the tempo of Barcelona’s game decreased, Villarreal getting space to fight back.
The game was locked, Villarreal finally found a reply in the 76th minute. Chukwueze surpassed Pique and Araujo to meet Danjuma’s cross. Goal! Villarreal 1-1 Barcelona.
Entering the final 10 minutes, Villarreal were more active in attacking and pressing, but it was Barcelona who scored the second goal. Depay escaped the offside trap, went past the goalkeeper and fired into an empty net. Goal! Villarreal 1-2 Barcelona in the 88th minute.
90+4 minutes, Barcelona gave the finishing blow. Philippe Coutinho was awarded a penalty and finished it perfectly. Goal! Villarreal 1-3 Barcelona.
There were no additional goals in the remaining two minutes of added time. Barcelona closed the victory comfortably, the score 3-1 for the Blaugrana.
With this result, Barcelona rose to 7th place in the standings with 23 points from 14 matches. Villarreal must be stuck in 12th place.
