Villarreal were defeated in a tough tie against FC Barcelona (4-0)

Villarreal lost against FC Barcelona at the Camp Nou (4-0) in a match that was decided by four first-half goals, which came from Ansu Fati (x2), Lionel Messi and Pau Torres (own goal).

The Yellows lined up at the Camp Nou with a recognisable starting XI, with only one change from the first two league ties. Unai Emery brought in Pervis Estupiñán for Alfonso Pedraza, who was not in the squad due to muscular discomfort.

Despite it being LaLiga Matchday 3, the Yellow Submarine visited an FC Barcelona side making their first league appearance of the season, having not been involved in the first two matchdays due to being involved in the final stages of the Champions League in August.

Emery’s side started the match bravely. In the third minute, the Yellows threatened the home side with a great piece of play between Mario Gaspar, Paco Alcácer and Samu Chukwueze, which the Nigerian winger was unable to finish.

FC Barcelona grew into the game and started to dominate possession, with the Submarine waiting for the opportunity. In the 15^th minute, the home side got on the scoreboard with their first real dangerous piece of play. Ansu Fati put his side ahead after an assist from Jordi Alba, who got away down the right flank.

Not long later, after a Yellows attack, Barça launched a counter-attack and got in behind the away side’s midfielders. Philippe Coutinho’s dribbling led to Ansu Fati’s second goal (m.19).

In the 34th minute, the referee handed the home side a penalty after a foul by Mario Gaspar on Ansu Fati. Messi stepped up to score his team’s third goal.

If Villarreal thought things weren’t falling for them, just before half-time it got worse, with Pau scoring an own goal to make it 4-0.

After the break, Emery looked to the bench, bringing on Vicente Iborra and Manu Trigueros for Alcácer and Francis Coquelin. The Yellows improved from the first half, with more presence in the opposition half, especially after Take Kubo’s introduction, with the Japanese midfielder wanting to see a lot of the ball.

The positive part of the night was the returns of Ramiro Funes Mori and Carlos Bacca, who came on ten minutes from time, fully recovered from the injuries that stopped them helping the team in recent months.

Lineups:

FC Barcelona: Neto; Sergi Roberto, Piqué, Lenglet, Jordi Alba; Sergio (Pjanic, m. 77); De Jong; Messi, Coutinho (Pedri, m. 69), Ansu Fati (Dembelé, m. 69); Griezmann (Trincao, m. 77).

Villarreal CF: S. Asenjo; Mario Gaspar, R. Albiol (Funes Mori, m. 83), Pau, Estupiñán; Chukwueze (Take, m. 73), Coquelin (Trigueros, m. 45), Parejo, Moi Gómez; Gerard (Bacca, m. 83), Paco Alcácer (Iborra, m. 45).

Goals: 1-0. Min 15: Ansu Fati. 2-0. Min. 19: Ansu Fati. 3-0. Min 34: Messi. 4-0. Min. 45: Pau (og).

Referee: Cuadra Fernández. Booked: Gerard.

Matchday information: Game between FC Barcelona and Villarreal CF, corresponding to Matchday 3 of the 2020/21 LaLiga season, at the Camp Nou.