Villarreal 1-4 Barcelona
Barcelona climbed to within four points of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga with an impressive performance and a convincing win away to in-form Villarreal.
There were three goals in a breathtaking opening 20 minutes as Barca edged ahead, and then a clever strike from Antoine Griezmann at the stroke of half-time sealed the deal.
Villarreal have been in storming form since the return of La Liga, with five wins since the restart launching them up into the top five, and they are still in the hunt for a European place.
But Barca looked like their old selves tonight, SBOBET fans, and the race for the title is well and truly still on.
Highlights of the game
The Blaugrana have been slow starters since the return of football, but they had a perfect opening to this game with a big hand from Villarreal defender Pau Torres, who turned the ball into his own net when Jordi Alba crossed, aiming for Antoine Griezmann.
But a goal’s a goal and Barca will take anything at the moment. But Villarreal has a red-hot striker in Gerard Moreno and he scored his 16th of the season to level the scores on just 13 minutes.
Paco Alcacer latched onto a long ball and laid it off to Santo Cazorla, who fired a stinging shot which Ter Stegen could only parry and Moreno gleefully smashed home the rebound.
It was a fast and furious start and there was no sign of things slowing down. Barca had
let a lead slip yet again, but, believe it or not they went ahead on 20 minutes, and it was a moment of genius from Luis Suarez.
Messi laid the ball off to the Uruguayan striker, who swerved a beauty into the top corner from just outside the penalty area. It was one for the La Liga 2020 highlights package and a goal to watch again and again.
Alcacer pulled up with an injury and was replaced by Carlos Bacca. The Colombian striker was in the action almost immediately, stretching Ter Stegen with a fierce shot from a tight angle.
But in an end to end game, Barca broke away from the corner, and Arturo Vidal hit a thunderous shot which Sergio Asenjo did well to save.
But the Villarreal keeper was picking the ball out of the net again on the stroke of half-time as Barca scored a stunning third. Suarez found Griezmann who played a clever one-two with Lionel Messi, before lifting the ball over Asenjo and into the net.
The Blaugrana let two leads slip in their recent 2-2 draw with Atletico Madrid so this was a huge moment at the perfect time for Setien’s team.
Messi and Griezmann combined well again in the first attack of the second half but Asenjo held on to the Argentine’s shot.
Barca continued to play attacking incisive football as Vidal stung Asenjo’s palms again with a low shot. The Villarreal keeper as helpless again when Sergi Roberto crossed for Messi to slide home what he thought was his 23rd goal of the season. But the Yellow Submarine was reprieved by VAR as Vidal’s foot was inches offside during the buildup.
It was four though, with five minutes remaining, when Alba found Ansu Fati and the 17-year-old cut inside and fired low into the left-hand corner. Messi almost got his goal at the death but his free-kick crashed back off the crossbar.
Key statistics
This was a great performance from Barcelona and a statement to Real Madrid that the league race is not over just yet. The Blaugrana rained 18 shots down on Asenjo’s goal and 12 on target.
But hey, they expected to win. This is their 24th consecutive game against the Yellow Submarine without defeat, and they have won six of the last seven meetings.
What’s next?
Barca started the game seven points behind Real Madrid after Los Blancos had edged past Athletic Bilbao this afternoon thanks to a late penalty converted by Sergio Ramos. The La Liga 2020 betting odds are backing Zinedine Zidane’s men to wrestle the title from Catalonia, but Barca won’t give it up without a fight.
Setien’s side has three very winnable games coming up. First it’s the Barcelona derby against bottom club Espanyol and then clashes with Real Valladolid and Osasuna.
The Yellow Submarine have been on a wonderful run since the return of action in La Liga and still have a good chance of qualifying for the Europa League, if not a Champions League spot.
They have three huge games coming up over the next ten days, playing rivals Getafe and Real Sociedad before heading to the Santiago Bernabeu to face the league leaders.
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