Barcelona Defeats Villarreal to Top LaLiga Table

On Sunday, Villarreal failed to secure a point as they lost 0-2 to Barcelona, who took all three points from the Cerámica thanks to goals from Raphinha, from a penalty, and Lamine Yamal. In a match where the home team failed to capitalize on their great chances and played with a numerical disadvantage from the 39th minute, Villarreal created little and, in addition, was reduced to ten men in the 39th minute after Renato Veiga was sent off with a straight red card for a foul on Lamine Yamal. As happened in the last match between the two in Villarreal (1-5), the offside rule was penalizing Villarreal, and after several plays were disallowed, in the 19th minute Koundé put the ball into his own net from a Cardona cross, but the left-back was offside when he made the cross, and the goal was disallowed. Without much effort, Flick's team broke Villarreal. In truth, Villarreal, led by a good performance from Moleiro and Buchanan, continued to have more chances, but the offside calls and some great saves from Joan García prevented them from getting back into the game. Villarreal felt good and wanted to turn the good vibes into a goal, but, unconsciously, they were rushing. Despite struggling to counter-attack and starting to feel fatigued, Villarreal stayed alive... until the 63rd minute. However, Villarreal was not taking advantage of their successes or the opponents' mistakes. Nevertheless, Villarreal did not get discouraged and stuck to the plan. Villarreal came out eager and bold and had their chances in the first ten minutes with Pepe and Ayoze. The high press set up by Marcelino was having an effect: it was unsettling Barcelona's build-up, winning the ball in the opponent's half, and finishing moves. Barcelona used their numerical advantage to pin Villarreal back in their area with a fierce strike from Lamine that Luiz Júnior blocked, and the goalkeeper saved another from Fermín to maintain the minimal difference. Barcelona, despite everything, was comfortable. After a play full of rebounds, shots, and blocks from the yellow defense, Lamine Yamal stepped up in the area to score 0-2 with a shot that hit the post. The script was starting to look more and more like last year's match, something the home coach wanted to avoid. On a mistake in Barcelona's build-up, Villarreal regained possession, but Ayoze sent the ball wide. The Barcelona striker fired a missile from outside the area that went straight for the corner. Barcelona, who finished with Casadó at right-back due to Koundé's injury, ends the year with 46 points, four behind Real Madrid, while Villarreal could not avoid their first home defeat of the season and will spend Christmas in fourth place with 35 points. The home team lacked the finishing touch that Raphinha had to win a penalty against Santi Comesaña. In the second half, Barcelona sealed the game in the 63rd minute to continue their lead at the top of the league, but also lost Koundé to injury. The match that could have been in Miami and wasn't had everything. After the break, the game continued at a high pace, but the intensity dropped from the home side. Alberola Rojas had no doubts and awarded a penalty that the Brazilian converted by fooling Luiz Júnior to make it 0-1 (m.12). Barcelona closed the year as leaders of LaLiga with 46 points, followed by Real Madrid (42), Atlético (37), Villarreal (35), and Espanyol (30) in the 20-team table. Villarreal did not give up and Mikautadze and Oluwaseyi came on to try to shake up the game. Mikautadze and Rafa Marín also claimed two penalties that Alberola Rojas did not consider. The yellow players were impatient. A Pepe shot that hit the crossbar was also disallowed. The first half was frantic, featuring a penalty in the 12th minute, a disallowed own goal by Koundé, and Renato Veiga's red card for a foul on Lamine. Marcelino's team lacked composure. After a recovery by Hansi Flick's team, the Brazilian entered the area and Comesaña put his leg in. The Cerámica fell silent and the sound of the wood echoed in the yellow stadium. Buchanan nearly capitalized on a poor Balde pass to Joan García, but the ball went inches wide of the goal to Marcelino's despair. Buchanan had two chances that went wide, and Raphinha was inches from scoring the second goal. Villarreal: Luiz Júnior; Pau Navarro, Rafa Marín, Renato Veiga, Sergi Cardona; Tajon Buchanan, Santi Comesaña, Dani Parejo (Maciá, m.75), Alberto Moleiro; Ayoze Pérez (Mikautadze, m.65), and Nicolas Pepe (Oluwaseyi, m.75). Barcelona: Joan García; Koundé (Casadó, m.79), Cubarsí, Gerard Martín, Balde; Eric García (Marc Bernal, m.66), De Jong, Fermín (Rashford, m.63); Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, and Ferran (Lewandowski, m.62). Goals: 0-1, m.12: Raphinha (penalty). 0-2, m.63: Lamine Yamal.