Barcelona 2–3 Villarreal: Player Ratings From Barca's First La Liga Loss of 2025 | OneFootball

Barcelona lost their first game after being crowned La Liga champions with Villarreal winning 3–2 to become the first team to beat Barça in the league in 2025.

The La Liga champions were greeted with a guard of honor, but once the starting whistle blew, Villarreal put a stop to the celebrations quickly. The visitors took advantage of Barcelona's high defensive line with Nicolas Pépé receiving the ball through on goal before teeing up Ayoze Pérez who calmly tucked in the opener and silenced the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys.

In the dying minutes of the first half, Barcelona leveled the scoring thanks to another screamer from Lamine Yamal. The teenager cut inside from the edge of the box and curled a perfect shot into the bottom corner in what's become his trademark finish in recent weeks. Just before halftime, Fermín López controlled a rebound and fired a violent shot from outside the box that found its way into the back of the net to complete yet another comeback.

Five minutes into the second half, Villarreal scored an equalizer thanks to a brilliant chip from Santiago Comesaña that left Marc-André ter Stegen hopeless.

The game then became a very tightly contested affair, devoid of scoring opportunities for much of the second half. With a draw looking the likely outcome, Villarreal pounced. A low cross found its way to an unmarked Tajon Buchanan inside the box. The Canada international took a touch and fired a powerful shot to give Villarreal the lead in the 80th minute.

Barcelona were unable to mount another comeback and the newly-crowned La Liga champions dropped their final home game of the season. Despite the defeat, the Catalans and their fans continued their championship celebrations once the final whistle blew, lifting the La Liga trophy in the final match at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys before returning to the Camp Nou next season.

Player ratings from the game below.

Barcelona Player Ratings vs. Villarreal (4-2-3-1)

Player of the Match: Lamine Yamal

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