The crowd at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Sunday night was electric, buoyed by the celebrations from Barcelona recent LaLiga victory.
The opposing Yellow Submarine were serious about business with their eye on UEFA Champions League qualification next season.
Villarreal struck first but came to regret their wastefulness after Lamine Yamal equalized later in the first half and Fermin Lopez put the home team ahead 2-1 for the halftime break.
After half-time, Marcelino’s side fought back, scoring twice to steal a 3-2 lead. With only 10 minutes left in the game, Barcelona found themselves down a goal but despite their earlier fightback into the game, they somehow again contrived to not get on the scoresheet when it was clearer from looks at the match timeline, there were clear chances to do so.
Here are the Barcelona player ratings:
Marc Andre ter Stegen: 4
The German goalkeeper lined up against Villarreal, where he suffered an injury earlier this season, but he had a poor game.
He looked small for Villarreal’s opening goal, where he could not stop a shot which was suppose to be saved.
He was very still for their second, where he could not even react.
Gerard Martin: 6
Gerard Martin started and played the first half, and provided relative stability in Barcelona’s defence.
Overall, he did not really contribute into attacking play down the left, and had a few poor passing plays, but he did okay.
After Alejandro Balde came on, the left flank was noticeably better.
Inigo Martinez: 7
The 34-year-old centre back was fairly reliable, but Villarreal easily exploited Barcelona’s high line.
He was good on the ball in build up, and made interceptions, but was just okay when faced with counter-attacks at high pace.
Pau Cubarsi: 7.5
Cubarsi’s night was relatively quiet, but he was sometimes following up on Villarreal’s speedy counters.
His passing remained calm and reliable, and he is not directly at fault for the goals conceded.
Eric Garcia: 8
Garcia’s right-back play has continued to improve, and his performance against Villarreal could not be undervalued. He understood how to work with Lamine Yamal, threatened with inverting runs, and executed defensive tasks with assurance.
Pedri: 8.5
Pedri was ridiculously smooth, uninhibited by Villarreal’s midfield pressing, and played a huge role for them both offensively and defensively.
In the first half, he moved past defenders with ease, was trustworthy with possession, and constantly progressed until he released defenders.
Gavi: 7
Gavi had an unusual start and played in the double pivot with Pedri in the first half and in the second half with Frenkie de Jong.
He supported the attack, but was mostly there to provide support in stopping Villarreal’s counters.
Fermin Lopez: 8.5
The La Masia cult hero was Barcelona’s most attacking threat throughout the match.
He constantly threatens opponents goal, even if he is denied by world class saves in the first half, he made sure he was not denied after he scored their second goal just before halftime to put them temporarily up.
Lamine Yamal: 9
Lamine Yamal was seemingly unplayable at Montjuic. His 17 year old body looked like it dictated the attack for all of Barcelona’s plays.
He scored an unbelievable goal that was reminiscent of his midweek goal against Espanyol. He scored first.
Raphinha: 7.5
While the Brazilian lacked his sharpness in the finishing department, he was still an important on-field contributor with his movement, build-up play, and runs off the ball.
His linking in the final third was better with Balde to his left, but he had little space to attack.
Robert Lewandowski: 6.5
Although he was likely keen to close the Pichichi gap with Kylian Mbappe, the Polish forward struggled.
His absence from recent matchplay caused him to be a little rusty (as highlighted by his poor touches), and he found it difficult to make threatening goalscoring positions.
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