The poster looked good on paper. FC Barcelona, leader with 61 points after its victory against Levante on Wednesday, hosted Villarreal, 3rd in the standings, three points behind Atlético, buoyed by good consistency and a Georges Mikautadze on fire (3 goals in his last 4 matches). Marcelino’s team, however, traveled to Camp Nou with a few absences in his eleven but an attractive team with Pape Gueye and Nicolas Pépé. Hansi Flick, for his part, aligned his usual 4-2-3-1 with Joan García in the goals, the Eric García-Cubarsí hinge in the center, Koundé and Balde in the corridors, Fermin and Marc Bernal in double pivot, and the Yamal-Olmo-Raphinha trio behind Torres.
The first period was mainly Lamine Yamal’s monologue after a lively start to the match. After 28 minutes, the Catalan prodigy took advantage of a gross loss of ball from Pape Gueye in the midfield, so far very good, to go alone against the opposing goalkeeper and adjust with a flat foot (1-0) Nine minutes later, the Spaniard scored a masterpiece on an individual action of which he has the secret. On the right side, he played two defenders and sent a sublime curling shot into the top corner (2-0, 37th). In the process, Villarreal had its only real opportunity through Moleiro, whose shot from inside six meters had grazed Joan García’s post (41st, on a cross from Pépé).
Lamine Yamal did it all!
We thought the match was over as Barça seemed serious and Lamine Yamal seemed capable of doing everything because he was so confident. But after returning from the locker room, Villarreal quickly managed to reduce the score through Pape Gueye. The Senegalese international made up for his mistake in the first period by being on the receiving end of a mix-up after a corner (2-1, 47th). But that was without counting on the Lamine Yamal show. Because this Saturday afternoon, the Spanish striker was simply unstoppable and even when his team was in difficulty, he managed to improve on any ball.
Shortly after the hour mark, following a nice opening from Pedri, he sped off alone to challenge Luiz Junior. His cross shot from the left found the small net for the hat-trick. The first of his career (3-1, 68th). A goal which definitively confirmed the hopes of coming back from Villarreal who were unable to come back. Lewandowski planted one last goal to seal the success (4-1, 90th). Barça therefore won in style in this match and can thank Lamine Yamal who did absolutely everything in this match. With these three new points, the Blaugranas take a 4-point lead over Real Madrid who will play Monday against Getafe.
