Three takeaways from Villarreal 0-2 Barcelona | OneFootball

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick was forced to deploy a lineup sans-Pedri against Villarreal last night at the Estadio de La Ceramica, and the team did indeed struggle in the buildup phase where the Canary Islander shines the brightest.

They did, however, take the game by the scruff and dictate terms to good effect from start to finish, registering a 2-0 win and taking three massive points away from Villarreal.

Raphinha earned and scored a penalty in the first half to hand Barcelona the lead. Villarreal then had a man sent off, forcing them to change their plans and handing the visitors more momentum.

The second goal eventually arrived from the feet of Lamine Yamal past the hour mark, burying the result and securing all three points.

Barça Universal brings you three takeaways from Villarreal 0-2 Barcelona.

A night of mistakes

Barcelona were dominant throughout their win over Villarreal last night, and the Yellow Submarines barely ever created a threat out of their own effort and precision. 

The chances they did get, however, came directly off errors from Barcelona’s defence through sloppy decision making, poor positioning or lazy passing.

It would be wrong to single out a particular name as the weak link in defence, for every Barcelona defender seemed to be error-prone. At one point, the Catalans should even have been two goals down just for the quality of chances gifted to Villarreal.

Gerard Martin, for starters, had an off game and seemed to be taking too long to make his decision on the ball. The Spaniard fumbled in possession often and even gifted an open chance to score in the first half when he passed directly into Villarreal’s possession.

Pau Cubarsi seemed less error-prone, but he too made a fair share of mistakes, including those leading directly to shots on goal.

Alejandro Balde, meanwhile, was possibly Barcelona’s most disappointing presence at the back as he constantly struggled to keep up with Nicholas Pepe and Tajon Buchanan. At one point, he underhit a back-pass and was lucky to have seen the ball cleared off the line.

While the result will be celebrated, Barcelona’s defence was simply too error-prone on the day and Flick will take note of the same.

Joan Garcia’s brilliance

Joan Garcia was top-notch in goal. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)

For all the chances Barcelona’s defence gifted Villarreal at Estadio de La Ceramica, the ball never got past Joan Garcia once from a shot. The only time it got past him was through a deflection off Jules Kounde, but even that was immediately ruled out for offside.

Beyond that one occasion, Garcia was simply impenetrable and put up a stunning show in goal for Barcelona – probably one of the best goalkeeping performances at the club in years.

In 90 minutes, Garcia made five saves, including four from inside the box, to deny Villarreal any goals. He prevented an xG of close to one and even made nine recoveries.

The five saves he made, however, are only the ones that reflect on paper and do not include the numerous superhuman saves he made for shots that were eventually called to be from offside moves.

Garcia denied the hosts any chance of scoring even in 1v1s, and at one point in the game, went out in full-stretch to make a stunning save. Later in the game, he again stepped up with a double-save to prevent any roads back into the game for the opposition.

At this point, every passing game makes the €25 million look like a bigger bargain, for Garcia may well be one of the best shotstoppers on the planet.

Goodbye 2025

Barcelona’s game against Villarreal last night was their final fixture of 2025, and they have bid farewell to the year in the best manner possible.

The year has been special for the Blaugrana, with them winning three domestic titles and coming within a hair’s breadth of the UEFA Champions League final. The new season started dubiously, but they have well and truly turned their situation around since the Chelsea game.

Having won all of their last seven games, including every single fixture in December, Barcelona end the year flying high and riding on serious momentum. They will now disperse for Christmas, but not without a significant lead.

The win over Villarreal on Sunday leaves Barcelona four points clear in the league standings. They sit on 46 points after 18 games, while second-placed Real Madrid are four points behind on 42. Goodbye 2025, indeed.