Barcelona wasted little time in recovering from their El Clasico defeat over the weekend with a bounceback win over Villarreal to once again be nipping at the heels of La Liga leaders Real Madrid.
Robert Lewandowski scored another brace while Ansu Fati added one as Barcelona completed the 3-0 win at home inside the 40 minutes of the first half.
Barcelona’s manager Xavi rung in the changes to the team which lost to Madrid, with Ansu Fati, the biggest name coming into the side, creating early chances for Lewandowski which went begging.
The Pole eventually found the net in the 31st minute when he was found by Jordi Alba and he faked two defenders before finishing with a powerful shot past Gerónimo Rulli. It took him just four minutes to find his and Barcelona’s second with a curling effort from the edge of the box.
Fati then found put his name on the scoresheet in the 38th minute when Ferran Torres’ ball found him in the box and easily put it in the back of an empty net.
With the points already secured, Barcelona took their foot off the gas but were rarely troubled by Villarreal at all for the rest of the game. They again trail Real by three points in the standings after securing 25 points from 10 games.
Barcelona faces a pivotal week ahead in the Champions League as they are due to face Bayern Munich where a loss will certainly end their hopes of reaching the next stage of the competition.
