Hello and welcome to the highlights of the LA Liga match between Barcelona and Villarreal at the Camp Nou Stadium.
It's full-time at Camp Nou, and it's finished Barcelona 4-0 Villarreal.
Ansu Fati's brilliant brace, followed by Lionel Messi's penalty and Pau Torres' own goal means Ronald Koeman era starts on the right note!
90+4' THAT'S IT!!! Referee blows the full-time whistle and Barcelona bags three points in its season opener.
3 MINUTES HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THE SECOND HALF
89' SAVED! Neto makes a good save after Kubo blasts the ball on target.
84' S ubstitution for Villarreal | IN: Funes Mari, Bacca | OUT: Albiol, Gerard Moreno
MORE CLUB DEBUTS. FORMER JUVENTUS MAN PJANIC MAKES BARCA DEBUT AND SO DOES YOUNG TRINCAO!
78' Substitutions for Barcelona- IN: Pjanic, Trincao | OUT: Griezmann, Busquets
74' S ubstitution for Villarreal IN: Takefusa Kubo | OUT: Chukwueze
Club and La Liga debut for Pedri. He is only 17. AND, first game for Dembele since November, 2019
A few milestones being achieved with this couple of changes.
70' Substitutions for Barcelona- IN: Dembele, Pedri | OUT: Fati, Coutinho
66' SAVED AND CORNER! But nothing comes off it. Coming to the play, Messi curls the ball into the top right corner from the left of the box. Villarreal goalkeeper Asenjo makes a comfortable save.
64' WARZONE MUCH? Thunderous fireworks above Camp Nou. Imagine playing in an empty Camp Nou with a fireworks display for 30 minutes.
63' SAVED BUT OFF-SIDE! Moreno is played into space down the right from the back. He bursts forward, cutsback and dribbles into the box before forcing a save from Neto. However, he is later deemed off-side.
57' CLEARED!! Pique called to action and he delivers! Villarreal attacks down the left with Estupinan leading the charge. He crosses the ball into the box, looking for Moreno. However, Pique gets to the ball first and clears it for a Villarreal corner. Nothing comes off it.
52' CHANCE! De Jong frees up Ansu Fati with a peace of a through ball down the left. The youngster bursts forward and squares the ball into the box. However, the cross is intercepted by a yellow jersey.
Meanwhile, Messi and Co. are setting off fireworks on the field. How many more will they add in the upcoming 40-odd minutes?
48' We are seeing fireworks in the city of Barcelona. While there could be some happy Barca fans setting some of them off, the commentators tell us that today marks the end of a festive week in the region. The display is going off in all four corners of the city so everyone can enjoy.
46' The home side sets the ball rolling.
Half-time substitutions for Villarreal | IN - Iborra, Trigueros| OUT - Coquelin, Alcacer
SECOND HALF BEGINS!
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45+1' HALF-TIME!! With that, an impressive first half for Barca and a torrid first half for Villarreal comes to an end.
45' OWNNNN GOOAAALLLL!!! Villarreal's outing at the Camp Nou continues to worsen. An own goal from Pau Torres has only added salt to its wounds. Coming to the goal, Messi's chips the ball into the box from the left, seeking JORDI ALBA. Pau Torres gets in the way and in attempt to clear the ball, he ends up tapping it past his own keeper.
35' GOOOOOOOALLLLLL!!!!! MESSSSIII IS UP AND RUNNING!!! HE IS BACK TO SCORING AT SCORING AT CAMP NOU!!! A dodgy penalty, but there is a huge smile on the big man's face. He goes to his left and the keeper guesses the direction correctly. However, Messi still manages to squeeze the ball past Asenjo. Not the most convincing penalty from the legend, but he will take it. Koeman is seen clapping his hands in pure elation on the sidelines.
NO, NOT FATI (WHO CAN SCORE A HAT-TRICK) BUT LIONEL MESSI IS SITTING AT THE DEAD BALL.
34' PENALTY FOR BARCELONA! Can you guess who won it for Barca and from what flank? If you guessed Fati from the right, you're spot on. Mario Gaspar Perez's horrendous night continues. He is up against an in-from Fati, who is clearly faster than the defender. Perez puts in a callous challenge inside the box and referee points to the spot.
Barca's attacking areas so far! 8 FROM THE LEFT, 1 FROM THE RIGHT!
26' Corner for Barca! The rebound falls to Alba at the left byline, who tries to toe the ball from a tight angle past Asenjo. However, the Villarreal 'keeper is up to the task as he parries the ball over the crossbar for a Barca corner. Nothing comes off it.
26' BLOCKED!!! Messi's shot six yards out from goal is blocked by Pau Torres. Barca no.10 receives a quick ball from the edge of the box and he tries to slide the ball past the Asenjo. However, Torres reacrs quickly enough to put in a good block.
19' GOOOOALLLLLLLLLL!!! IT'S THE 17-YEAR-OLD ANSU FATI AGAIN!!! The youngster is off to a dream start this season!!!! Coming to the goal, Barcelona's counter-attack is led by Countinho, who makes a lightning quick run down the centre from his own half and all the way to the Villarreal box. He sees Fati in space to his left and threads a quick pass. The youngster does the rest. He beats Villarreal's goalkeeper Asenjo with ease to double Barca's advantage.
15' GOOOOOALLLLLLLL!!!! ANSU FATIIIII SCORES THE FIRST BARCA GOAL OF THE SEASON!!! A truly emphatic finish!! Coming to the goal, Jordi Alba receives an inch-perfect long ball from the back, manages to stay onside and zips down to the left byline. He then cuts it back to an incoming Fati, who opens the boot to slot the ball into the top left corner. BARCA LEADS 1-0.
ANOTHER STAT: Barcelona has not lost its opening league game at Camp Nou since 1939.
Last La Liga win for Villarreal against Barca: March 2008, 2-1 at Camp Nou
Barcelona is undefeated in the last 22 league games against Villarreal. 16 wins, 6 draws.
8' End-to-end football so far. First, Barca advance up front through Coutinho on the left. He manges to dribble his way into the box on the left, plays it back to Alba but his poor pass (seeking Busquets) sees Villarreal break on the counter. Estupinan darts down the left flank and squares it. However, the cross is poorly directed and Barca defenders clear the ball out of harm's way.
6' Corner! First of the game and it goes Barca's way. Messi dribbles his way, down the centre, to the edge of the box. He plays a quick through to Alba on the left, whose cutback from the byline is blocked. Nothing comes off the corner.
4' CHANCE FOR VILLARREAL! Paco Alcacer loves getting in, behind the opposition defence. Received a delightful cross from the right and chests it back to Chukwueze with the first touch. The latter had enough room to go for a shot, but he decided to play the ball to his left to Moi Gomez. Eventually, nothing comes off the move.
Griezmann is starting on the right, Fati on the left (as expected) and Messi playing a more central role.
1' Villarreal get the ball rolling.
KICK-OFF: FIRST HALF BEGINS
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-> After a chaotic, controversial and nerve-wracking off season, La Liga giant Barcelona is back.
-> Lionel Messi's Barcelona, under its new coach Ronald Koeman, hosts Villarreal.
-> No Luis Suarez, No Nelson Semedo and no Arturo Vidal. But Coutinho is back. Will Barcelona start the new season on a winnning note?
LIVE UPDATES
Messi upset, but still motivated after Suarez departure
Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman said he understood why Lionel Messi was upset about the departure of his long-time strike partner and friend Luis Suarez to Atletico Madrid but did not believe it would affect him on the pitch.
Messi blasted Barca on Friday for forcing Suarez out after six years of service in which he scored 198 goals, the Argentinean's latest attack on the club's hierarchy after he tried to force a move of his own last month.
“It's normal that he is sad after his friend has left the club, they spent many years side by side. But the important thing is he's training and playing,” Koeman told a news conference before Barca's season opener at home to Villarreal on Sunday.
“He has been an example to everyone. He is upset but he has shown a lot of enthusiasm since he returned and he's going to show that on the pitch,” he added.
Koeman called Suarez within his first week of taking the Barca job to tell him he was surplus to requirements and he admitted taking a joint decision with president Josep Maria Bartomeu to move the Uruguayan on.
“It seems like I'm the bad guy in all of this but I am not, I showed him respect,” added the Dutchman, who is one of Barca's best players of all-time and who delivered the club's first European Cup with a goal in the 1992 final against Sampdoria.
“I told him that perhaps he wouldn't play many minutes but that if he stayed I would still count on him. It wasn't just my decision, it was also the club's.
“There are lots of young players who have a chance to get into the team and this is part of football. Luis and I still respect each other. He has left and I wish him a lot of luck,” he said.
PREDICTED XI
Barcelona: Neto, Roberto, Pique, Lenglet, Alba, De Jong, Busquets, Coutinho, Messi, Fati, Griezmann
Villarreal: Asenjo, Gaspar, Funes Mori, Torres, Estupinan, Chukwueze, Coquelin, Parejo, Moi Gomez, Moreno, Alcacer
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