Barcelona Crush Villarreal 5-1 to Continue Perfect La Liga Run

Barcelona’s Brazilian forward Raphinha, wearing #11, celebrated his team’s fourth goal during their dominant 5-1 victory over Villarreal at the Estadio de la Ceramica on September 22, 2024.

Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha each scored twice as Barcelona claimed an emphatic win to maintain their flawless start in La Liga. However, the triumph was overshadowed by a potential knee injury to goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who was stretchered off.

Lewandowski opened the scoring with two goals, although he later missed a penalty in what was a highly entertaining contest on Spain’s east coast. Villarreal’s Ayoze Perez pulled a goal back for the hosts just before half-time, and Villarreal had two goals disallowed. Pablo Torre and Raphinha later sealed the victory for the Catalans.

With second-placed Real Madrid defeating Espanyol 4-1 the previous day, Barcelona restored their four-point lead at the top of the table.

Manager Hansi Flick handed another start to Eric Garcia in defensive midfield despite his early red card in their midweek Champions League clash against Monaco. He also included reserve players Gerard Martin and Sergi Dominguez, with Pablo Torre filling in for the injured Dani Olmo.

Teenager Lamine Yamal almost opened the scoring early, hitting the post before Lewandowski found the back of the net in the 20th minute, following an assist from Torre. Villarreal keeper Diego Conde made an initial save against Lewandowski, but the Polish striker doubled Barcelona’s lead after 35 minutes with an acrobatic finish.

Villarreal posed a threat on the counter-attack, and Perez gave the home side hope after being set up by Nicolas Pepe. Ter Stegen made a brilliant save to deny Pepe before the break but was later injured and replaced by backup goalkeeper Inaki Pena.

Villarreal thought they had pulled another goal back early in the second half, but Pepe’s strike was ruled offside. Pablo Torre’s deflected shot soon restored Barcelona’s momentum, and although Lewandowski missed a penalty, Raphinha added two more goals to extinguish any hopes of a Villarreal comeback.

Despite the convincing win and perfect start to the season, Ter Stegen’s injury could impact Barcelona’s title challenge if it proves serious.