Barcelona 2 – 3 Villarreal
In a thrilling match filled with constant momentum shifts, Villarreal emerged victorious in a five-goal spectacle.
This was Barcelona’s first game since securing the La Liga title, and their experience showed as they struggled to find consistency. Hansi Flick’s side lost once again to Villarreal in a match that saw frequent swings in control.
On Sunday, Villarreal defeated Barcelona 3-2 at Camp Nou. This marked Flick’s first loss in La Liga this year.
After falling behind early with a goal from Ayose Perez, Barcelona fought back in the first half with goals from Lamine Yamal and Fermin Lopez, taking the lead before halftime. However, Villarreal staged a strong comeback in the second half, scoring twice to claim the win.
Thanks to favorable results from other matches, Villarreal also secured a major achievement: qualification for next season’s Champions League alongside Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, and Athletic Bilbao.
The match began with Villarreal taking the lead in the 4th minute. Receiving the ball from Nicolas Pepe, Perez found the net with a precise angled shot.
Three minutes later, Fermin Lopez showcased excellent footwork as he entered the box, but the young midfielder couldn’t get a clean shot off.
At the 10th minute, Villarreal’s goalkeeper Luis Junior made a strong save to maintain their lead. Three minutes later, Yamal’s curling shot went just wide of the target.
At the 22nd minute, Robert Lewandowski came close to scoring with a header from Eric Garcia’s cross, but Luis made a timely save. Twelve minutes later, another brilliant header from Garcia was also denied by the Villarreal keeper.
In the 38th minute, Yamal leveled the score with a stunning goal. Garcia initially attempted a shot but lost control and passed the ball to Yamal, who moved forward slightly and struck a trademark left-footed shot just past the far post.
During the fourth minute of stoppage time in the first half, Yamal’s skillful run between two defenders ended with a shot that hit the crossbar. Seconds later, Barcelona found the net as Lopez scored from outside the box following a clearance from a Garcia cross.
Barcelona went into halftime celebrating their lead.
However, the joy was short-lived. Villarreal equalized early in the second half. In the 50th minute, Jeremy Pinero’s defense-splitting pass found Santi Comesana, who calmly finished.
Barcelona created several chances throughout, but the Spanish champions couldn’t capitalize. Against the run of play, Villarreal took the lead in the 80th minute when Mark-André ter Stegen was beaten by a close-range shot from Tahne Buchanan off a Sergi Cardona cross.
Despite efforts in the remaining minutes, Barcelona—who had already secured the title earlier—could not avoid their first La Liga loss of the year.
Barcelona remain top with 85 points from 37 matches. Meanwhile, Real Madrid narrowed the gap to 81 points by beating a nine-man Sevilla 2-0 in a match played simultaneously.
Atletico Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, and Villarreal occupy the next three spots respectively.
