In two weeks, Barcelona has said goodbye to the Super Cup, the Copa del Rey and practically also the League after the defeat against Villarreal in a schizophrenic match that leaves them 10 points behind the lead.. Xavi's team was able to overcome a 0-2 deficit against a Villarreal that knew how to play its tricks during the first hour and that took advantage of the Barça concessions in defense to tie first and finish off their rival in stoppage time.. [Narrative and statistics (3-5)]
The match had everything, including the usual dose of controversy. Munuera annulled a goal against Villarreal midway through the first half due to an offside that would later be confirmed by the VAR. Gerard had caught a ball in the area, after a struggle between Kounde and Álex Baena that ended with the Frenchman on the ground claiming a foul, and he shot Peña from the small area. However, the assistant interpreted that Sorloth, in an advanced position, had hindered Araujo.
The score did not move, but the play was like a turning point in a duel to which Xavi's team had entered on the right foot and giving the sensation of having recovered from the setback at San Mamés. Barça clung to Yamal's audacity to find the goal. The youth player created the first chance after running to the baseline and giving way behind for Gundogan's shot, which Jorge Cuenca blocked with his foot.
The Barça team put pressure on a Villarreal team whose absence of Parejo made it a little more difficult to get the ball out.. Marcelino's men joined lines when defending and tried to get out quickly when they recovered, looking for that buoy in attack that is Sorloth to generate second plays from the Norwegian's downloads. They were also looking for the Akhomach interns on the wing, where Xavi had placed the young Héctor Font to cover the loss of the operated Balde.
As the Castellón team adjusted, it was more difficult for Barcelona to generate danger, although they had a good option in a shot by Joao Felix that Jörgensen saved with a good hand. In any case, the Portuguese didn't appear much and neither did Lewandowski. And Yamal found it increasingly difficult to overwhelm Alberto Moreno, so Xavi's men were fading while Villarreal grew.
Gerard was the one who insisted the most in the search for the goal and ended up catching it shortly before the break, in a throw-in that Barça defended regularly. Sorloth received and swiveled to put the ball into the heart of the area, where Gerard took advantage of the meters that Christensen had given him to finish first into the net.
The Dane stayed on the bench for the second half, like Romeu and Héctor Fort after a triple substitution with which Xavi tried to revive his team and succeeded.. It was soon seen that the Blaugrana's circulation speed was greater, with Pedri now at the wheel. The entry of Cancelo also gave more depth to the left wing, although the Portuguese made a mistake that made the game very difficult for his team.. He tried to hit a long ball, but control slipped and Akhomach was skilled to take it, dribble past Peña and score at will before apologizing to his former fans.
Fired up by adrenaline
Xavi doubled his bet and brought in Ferran, the definitive push that Barça was missing to launch a comeback that seemed impossible and was achieved in just eleven minutes.. The first step was taken by Gundogan, taking advantage of a backheel pass from Lewandowski. Ferran had the second and he failed in the goalmouth with a pass from the German, although it didn't take long for the tie to arrive, after a ball rejected to the front that Pedri sent into the net.. Only three minutes later the comeback was completed with a hanging free kick in the area that Bailly put into his goal.
Fired up by adrenaline, Barcelona wanted to finish the game and was able to do so with a pair of arrivals from Vitor Roque and Cancelo that Jorgensen aborted. But Villarreal had not yet said its last word. Guedes' freshness allowed him to get behind the defense on a good delivery from Sorloth and score with a cross shot. And after the tie, a crazy discount. In the 90th minute, Munuera pointed out a penalty, although he backed away after seeing the replay on the monitor, to Xavi's indignation. And with Barça in search of victory, Marcelino's team finished it off with goals from Sorloth, after a grotesque defensive action by the Blaugranas, and Morales on the counterattack.