Barcelona 3-0 Villarreal HIGHLIGHTS, La Liga: Lewandowski brace, Fati goal help Barca beat Villarreal

A relatively less entertaining second half as no one came close to scoring. First half goals from Lewandowski and Fati was enough to secure a win for Barcelona, who came into the game with a loss against rival Real Madrid. Xavi will be a happy man as his side is back to winning ways but is still three points behind leader Real. Ferran Torres too was brilliant throughout the game but was out of luck as he didn’t score today

Pau Torres gets booked for his rash sliding tackle on Raphinha who was running unmarked in to the Villarreal half

Three added minutes

Barcelona gets a freekick just a couple of yards away from the box as Raphinha is brought down by three converging Villarreal players. The Brazilian himself takes it but it is well wide. It has been that kind of a string of performances from Raphinha. Came in with a lot of hype but is yet to prove himself for the Spanish giant

BLOCKED! Dembele yet again almost provides as Ferran, deep inside the box, shoots but Rulli does well to stop it

CHANCE!! Raphinha misses a sitter. Pedri puts in a long ball to Dembele on the left. The latter then gets a good first touch to find Raphinha but the Brazilian puts it wide. Should’ve been 4-0

Kounde OUT, Pique IN

Fati OUT, Raphinha IN; Lewandowski OUT, Dembele IN

Roberto OUT, Bellerin IN; De Jong OUT, Busquets IN

Villarreal looking for a breakthrough here but are not really doing anything as their attacks are countered easily. Just as we speak, the Yellows get dispossessed and foul Gavi shortly after, gifting a free kick for Barca

Fati down the middle passes to Alba on the left and he puts in a cross but it is in no man’s land. Roberto finally retrieves it but the Villarreal defense have already converged into him

Morlanes OUT, Manu Trigueros; Jackson OUT, Moreno IN

Barcelona have won its last three LaLiga home games without conceding – it has not won four straight at home in the competition without conceding since June 2020 under Quique Setién.

CLOSE!! Albiol makes a good intervention as Fati comes in running on the left. He attempts a shot but Albiol comes from the back to put the ball away

Pedri puts in a fine through ball but Alba is caught offside after Rulli dives to collect the ball

Constant pressing from Barcelona. Ferran from the right puts in a cross to Gavi but Rulli intercepts

Danjuma OUT, Morales IN

Only one added minute and it gets over quickly. Unai Emery storms off into the dressing room, understandable reaction as his team was absolutely dominated in the second half of the first half. Huge releif for Xavi as Lewandowski is back among the goals an has found his rhythm back. Villarreal has a mountain to climb

Relentless Barcelona is not done yet. Gavi pushes through on the right flank but is brought down by Alex and a freekick is awarded for Barca

THREEE GOALS IN SEVEN MINUTES! ANSU FATI IS THE MAN! Gets his third goal of the season. A stumble from Rulli and Fati is there to tap it in

TWO IN THREE!!! IT IS LEWANDOWSKI AGAIN! WHAT A FINISH. Perfect through ball from Alba, Lewandowski gets there in time, dummies a couple of defenders and fires a screamer from outside the box to the top right corner. Villarreal had conceded only three goals in its last 9 league games but has let Barcelona score twice in three minutes. Speaks volumes about the Barcelona attack

LEWAAA!! Sublime finish from Lewandowski to give Barca the deserved lead. Wonderful through ball from Pedri as Lewandowski receives it in a rather awkward position but he manages well as he turns and puts the ball in the back of the net. This is Lewandowskis first league goal since the game against Mallorca on October 2

Corner for Barca yet again. Alonso takes it but Yeremy kicks it out of danger

Ansu Fati gets a brilliant first touch off a long ball and finds Torres and he passes it to Gavi who is caught offside

Pedraza OUT, Mojica IN

Pedraza is down and it looks like he has a hamstring strain. Medical team arrives and takes him off the pitch and he is replaced by Mojica

CLOSE!!! Yeremy gets a well placed through ball and the play shifts to the right flank. He then passes it to Danjuma who shoots but the ball goes just wide

Kounde plays a brilliant curve cross and a sliding Jordi Alba does well to keep it from going out of bounds on the left. Fati receives and heads it just wide

CHANCE! Yeremy from the left does well to put in a dangerous cross but Jackson could’nt reach it as it is a bit higher than he anticipated

Villarreal stacks the back with six players, making it difficult for the Barcelona attack to breach. Ferran Torres to Gavi and he passes it to Roberto but he fails to get through the defense and passes it to Alba. Attack wears out

A blunder from Pedraza results in Pedri getting the ball in a dangerous position. He sees Gavi free in the penalty box and puts in a pass but Rulli runs in to collect the ball

Freekick for Villarreal as Roberto pulls Pedraza’s shirt to bring him down. But Roberto is let off with a warning. Surprising to say the least. Nothing comes of that freekick

Sloppy defense from Barca as Pedri is yet again intercepted and this time it is deep into their half, but Kounde does well to prevent any advances

Perdi is dispossessed near the half line mark and a quick counter from Villarreal begins. Danjuma dibbles past a couple of defenders but the danger is averted

Immediate pressure from Barca as Ansu Fati puts in a through ball to Gavi but the ball is deflected for a corner. Corner taken quickly but the ball goes wide of any Barca player but eventually finds Gavi. He passes it to Fati who’s outside the box and the latter tries a lower left corner shot but it goes just wide

Gavi starts the proceedings for Barcelona.

A minute of silence observed in the stadium as a respect to Villarreal’s ex-vice president Jose Manuel Llaneza, who passed away earlier today due to Lukemia

We are just within four minutes from the kick-off as the players line up in the tunnel and are all set to take the field. Raul Albiol will captain Villarreal while Sergi Roberto is Barcelona’s skipper

Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas, Gerd Muller award winner Robert Lewandowski and Kopa trophy winner Gavi are welcomed with a standing ovation from the Camp Nou crowd.

Barcelona tries to rebound from the loss against Real Madrid in the first “clásico” of the season when it hosts Villarreal.

Xavi Hernández’s team won seven in a row and was unbeaten to start the league until the 3-1 loss at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium on Sunday.

Villarreal defeated Osasuna in the previous round to end a four-game winless streak in the league. Unai Emery’s team is trying to stay near the European qualification places.

Jules Kounde was able return to squad - after an injury setback - in El Classico last week, Hector Bellerin was declared fully fit and has made it to the Culers’ squad. But Andreas Chirstensen, Memphis Depay and Ronald Araujo are still unavailable for selection

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Villarreal 1-4 Barcelona - July 5, 2020

Barcelona: Ter Stegen, Pedri, Lewandowski, Ansu Fati, Ferran, Alonso, Alba, Roberto, De Jong, Kounde, Gavi

Villarreal: Rulli, Kiko, Albiol, Pau, Danjuma, Parejo, Jackson, Alex B., Morlanes, Yeremy, Pedraza

Since 2010, the two sides have faced each other 22 times in La Liga in which Barcelona has won 17 times while Villarreal has won only once. Four matches ended in a draw

Barcelona vs Villarreal will kick-off at 9:00 PM CEST/ 12.30 AM IST on Friday.

Barcelona vs Villarreal La Liga match will be telecast live on Sports18 in India. The match will also be live streamed on Voot and JioTV.