Barcelona came from behind to beat Villarreal 4-3 on Sunday, with last year’s LaLiga top scorer Robert Lewandowski scoring late in the second half.
Villarreal were clearly the superior team throughout the game, but a clinical Barcelona scored at crucial times, aided by a magnificent performance by 16-year-old Lamine Yamal, who created the most of their chances, including an assist, and had two efforts go wide.
Alexander Sorloth and Alex Baena of Villarreal squandered early chances, and Sorloth’s attempt was ruled out after a VAR assessment revealed he was barely offside in the build-up.
Barca, on the other hand, seized an early two-goal lead courtesy to a superbly placed cross by Yamal that enabled Gavi to open the scoring with a close-range header in the 12th minute, and they doubled their advantage three minutes later with a shot by Frenkie De Jong after a defensive blunder.
But the hosts kept up their relentless tempo and came back with goals from Juan Foyth and Alexander Sorloth in the first half, and Alex Baena five minutes later.
Foyth’s bullet header from a corner in the 26th minute heated up the home fans after a succession of saves by Barcelona custodian Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Sorloth equalised 14 minutes later from close range, after a wonderful team play combining Gerard Moreno and Alfonso Pedraza, who provided a cross for the Norwegian attacker to equalise.
In the 50th minute, Pedraza was involved in another excellent build-up to Villarreal’s third goal, charging up the left channel in a quick counter-attack and laying it on a plate for Baena to cut inside and score with a curling shot into the top corner.
Last year’s LaLiga winners, on the other hand, awoke with Yamal causing all sorts of problems for the hosts’ defenders. In the 56th minute, he nearly tied the game, but his thundering effort from the outside of the box smacked against the crossbar.
Ferran may be substituted. Torres scored from close range for the visitors in the 68th minute, with Yamal firing another bullet against the woodwork, only this time the ball bounced to Lewandowski, who tapped in the rebound off the post to give Barcelona a hard-fought win in a pulsating affair.
This was Barcelona’s second victory in three games this season. They are third in LaLiga with seven points, tied with Girona, and two points behind leaders Real Madrid.
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