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- Defending champions Barcelona travelled to El Madrigal to face Quique Setien’s Villareal as they were looking to get back to winning ways
- An action packed first half saw four goals being shared as Barcelona took the lead through Gavi and de Jong but Villareal came back with Foyth and Sorloth scoring
- The yellow Submarines took the lead early in the second half but a quickfire double from substitute Torres and Lewandoski sealed a 4-3 comeback win for Barcelona
Villareal player ratings: Brilliant Baena
Contents
F. Jorgensen 6/10: Made some brilliant saves but also let in 4 goals, for some of which he should have done better.
J. Foyth 7/10: Scored a thumping header from a corner, tucked in to make a back three that provided the platform for Pedraza to fly forward.
M.Gabbia 6/10: Got caught in wrong positions as Barcelona’s slick play caused all sorts of trouble.
J. Cuenca 5.5/10: Struggled against the experience and acumen of Lewandoski.
A.Pedraza 7.5/10: His darting runs with and without the ball troubled the Blaugrana backline as he got two assists from the left back position.
R. Terrats 6/10: Couldn’t cope with Yamal in particular as he had to defend large spaces left by bombarding Pedraza.
E. Capoue 6.5/10: Worked tirelessly to shuffle across and prevent Barcelona from cutting through his sides midfield.
D. Parejo 6.5/10: Kept the ball relatively well, but struggled against the dynamism of Frenkie when he drove forward with the ball.
A. Baena 8/10: Got a goal, provided an assist terrorized Barcelona’s right hand side in tandem with Alfonso Pedraza.
G. Moreno 6.5/10: Slipped a lovely pass for the Sorloth goal, took up some clever positions between the center back and full-back.
A. Sorloth 7/10: Did all the elements of classic center forward play as well as showing some lovely footwork, the goal was the icing on an all-round performance.
Substitutes
D. Suarez 5.5/10: Added intelligence and creativity
I. Akhomach 4/10: Struggled against a slick Barcelona midfield.
S. Comesana 5/10: Kept possession well and recovered it on multiple occassion.
J.L. Morales: N/A
B.Diaz : N/A
Barcelona player ratings: Lamine lights up El Madrigal
M. ter Stegen 5.5/10: Good on the ball but let in 3 goals and looked shaky on balls into the box.
M. Alonso 6.5/10: Exceptional going forward as he provided the width down the left hand side, but at times caught upfield as he lacks the recovery pace.
A. Christensen 5/10: Struggled against Sorloth’s physicality, had to be taken off at half time.
J. Kounde 5.5/10: Caught covering for Roberto at times and Baena in particular took advantage against him.
S. Roberto 5/10: Lost Foyth for the goal, struggled with the yellow submarine’s left sided players running at him, a torrid game overall for the captain.
O. Romeu 6/10: Did ok from the pivot position to play simple passes to more creative midfielders, but was overrun by dynamic opposition attackers.
F. de Jong 8/10: The metronome of Barcelona, de Jong kept the ball circulating well, almost everything the Blaugrana did went through him.
I. Gundogan 6.5/10: Some clever play in the half space as he picked up some smart pockets of space to play passes, caught short defensively at times.
Gavi 7/10: Ran his heart out, interchanged with his midfielders seamlessly and scored a lovely goal to top it all off.
R. Lewandoski 7.5/10: Scored a poacher’s goal, linked up well with Yamal and led the attack expertly.
L. Yamal 8.5/10: Silky, slippery and subtle, his pace and trickery caused all sorts of trouble, created a goal and struck the post twice, from one of which Lewandoski scored.
Substitutes
E. Garcia 6/10: Fared better than Christensen, particularly in possession.
F. Torres 7/10: Scored a sublime equalizer after coming on, added pace and directness.
A. Fati 5/10: Missed a half chance and looked slightly rusty.
F. Lopez: N/A
Villareal vs Barcelona: Match Summary and Highlights
The Catalans started the game strong as Lamine Yamal found Gavi with a deligtful delivery from the wing, it was a goal made in La Masia. Barcelona got further foothold in the game as after some lovely football de Jong swept in a clever finish in to the corner. The Blaugrana looked to be pulling away but Setien’s men weren’t about to give up.
Villareal right back Juan Foyth thumped a header from a lovely Alex Baena corner, after he stole a march on markers Roberto and Alonso. Villareal started to grow into the game and Alfonso Pedraza escaped brilliantly to deliver a low cross following some clever interchange between Sorloth and Moreno. It was Sorloth who tapped in to equalize.
After the break some brilliant wing play between Pedraza and Baena gave Villareal the lead as the later curled in a brilliant shot. Barcelona looked to be struggling, and Ferran came on to change that. He did so emphatically as he turned in his second goal of the season to make it 3-3.
Then the 16 year old phenom Yamal decided to press the pedal as he darted in with the ball from the right and unleashed a shot against the post, his second in the game. Robert Lewandoski was on hand to covert the rebound and give Barcelona the lead. From there on the Blaugrana saw off some scares and closed the game 4-3.
Man of the Match
A sixteen year-old sensation with the world at his feet, La Masia and Barcelona seem to have found their next poster boy. Operating in the right wing the youngster terrorized the Yellow submarines with pace, dribbling and a venomous left-foot. Although he didn’t get a goal, he provided one and it was his shot from which Lewandoski scored the winning goal.
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