The atmosphere at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys was electric on Sunday evening as Barcelona supporters celebrated their recent LaLiga title win.
Villarreal on the other hand was very much aware to the task at hand and required only a point to secure qualification for the UEFA Champions League for the following season.
The Yellow Submarine brought the intensity early, yet Lamine Yamal levelled the score for Barcelona later in the first half, and Fermin Lopez gave Barcelona a 2-1 lead before halftime.
Marcelino’s team got their act together after halftime and scored another two to take a 3-2 lead. With only ten minutes to go, Barcelona found themselves a goal down, and unlike their resurgence in the first half, they could not rally back this time.
Here are the 5 things we learned:
1. Maintenance of Resilience Under Pressure:
Barcelona displayed impressive mentality to see off a 1-0 deficit, with Villarreal scoring from a quick corner in just the fourth minute of the match, capitalizing on a mixup between Marc-André ter Stegen and Andreas Christensen as Ayoze Perez scored from a short throw.
Rather than cave into the early pressure, Barcelona responded as their composed, relaxed demeanor returned to establish dominance, repeated in a sixth straight match win.
2. Lamine Yamal’s Growing Respect:
The 17-year-old winger proved his worth with his 18th goal of the season by cutting in from the right and arrowing a left-footed shot into the bottom corner of the net.
And, Yamal’s other shot against the crossbar during stoppage time solidified his stardom and growing recognition for being a potential attacking weapon.
3. An Array of Options:
Barcelona produced 0.99 expected goals (xG) to Villarreal’s value of 0.62 by chance after chance from Fermin Lopez, Yamal, Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, and Eric Garcia collectively forcing Villarreal’s goalkeeper to generate a few key points.
This robust attack option is perhaps the key reason why it has opened up a seven-point lead ahead of Real Madrid with two games to play.
4. Early Defensive Weaknesses:
Villarreal’s goal early on exposed vulnerabilities in Barcelona’s defense. Pepe’s speed exposed them, and it was simple for Perez to finish past Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Flick will need to sort these lapses so as not to allow faster enemies to execute similar breaks against them.
5. Fermin Lopez’s Big Play:
Fermin Lopez’s astonishing half volley from the edge of the box in first-half stoppage time completed the comeback.
His ability to perform in the moment is reason enough to see him as an active midfielder will allow for moments like this to happen.
Want to get the latest Barcelona news direct to your phone? Join our WhatsApp community by clicking here.
