Match ends, Barcelona 2, Villarreal 0.
Barcelona 2-0 Villarreal: Gerard Pique and Carles Alena send champions top
- From the section European Football
Barcelona went top of La Liga - for two hours at least - with victory over struggling Villarreal.
Gerard Pique headed in Ousmane Dembele's right-wing cross for the opening goal.
And youngster Carles Alena scored his first La Liga goal when he chipped the ball over Sergio Asenjo from Lionel Messi's through ball.
Villarreal should have led earlier on, with Gerard Moreno hitting the post after holding off Clement Lenglet.
Barca, who had several players out injured, were far from their best although Messi almost added a third late on.
Sevilla will go back to the top of La Liga if they beat fourth-placed Alaves at 19:45 GMT.
It was only a second win in five games for Barca, while Villarreal remain one place outside the relegation zone with one victory in their past eight games.
Line-ups
Barcelona
- 1ter Stegen
- 2Nélson Semedo
- 3Piqué
- 15LengletBooked at 18mins
- 18AlbaBooked at 69mins
- 5Busquets
- 11Dembélé
- 4Rakitic
- 22VidalSubstituted forAleñáat 70'minutes
- 7CoutinhoSubstituted forMalcomat 80'minutes
- 10Messi
Substitutes
- 6D Suárez
- 14Malcom
- 19El Haddadi
- 26Aleñá
- 27Miranda
- 30Peña
- 36Brandáriz
Villarreal
- 1Asenjo
- 2Gaspar
- 3GonzálezBooked at 26mins
- 6RuizBooked at 11mins
- 16PedrazaBooked at 90mins
- 30Chukwueze
- 14Trigueros MuñozSubstituted forBaccaat 67'minutes
- 5Cáseres
- 19CazorlaSubstituted forRabaseda Antolínat 88'minutes
- 8FornalsBooked at 90mins
- 7MorenoSubstituted forToko Ekambiat 79'minutes
Substitutes
- 4Funes Mori
- 9Bacca
- 11Costa
- 13Fernández
- 17Toko Ekambi
- 22Rabaseda Antolín
- 28Morlanes
- Referee:
- José Luis Munuera Montero
- Attendance:
- 73,003
Match Stats
Home TeamBarcelonaAway TeamVillarreal
- Possession
- Home62%
- Away38%
- Shots
- Home16
- Away12
- Shots on Target
- Home7
- Away2
- Corners
- Home11
- Away1
- Fouls
- Home9
- Away17
Live Text
Full Time
Second Half ends, Barcelona 2, Villarreal 0.
Sergio Busquets (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Pablo Fornals (Villarreal).
Attempt saved. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Ousmane Dembélé.
Attempt missed. Jordi Alba (Barcelona) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left misses to the right. Assisted by Ousmane Dembélé with a cross.
Booking
Alfonso Pedraza (Villarreal) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Carles Aleñá (Barcelona) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Alfonso Pedraza (Villarreal).
Booking
Pablo Fornals (Villarreal) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Sergio Busquets (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Pablo Fornals (Villarreal).
Substitution
Substitution, Villarreal. Raba replaces Santi Cazorla.
Goal!
Goal! Barcelona 2, Villarreal 0. Carles Aleñá (Barcelona) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Lionel Messi with a through ball.
Carles Aleñá (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Santiago Cáseres (Villarreal).
Attempt blocked. Mario Gaspar (Villarreal) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Samuel Chukwueze.
Ousmane Dembélé (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Alfonso Pedraza (Villarreal).
Attempt missed. Malcom (Barcelona) header from the centre of the box is just a bit too high following a corner.
Attempt blocked. Sergio Busquets (Barcelona) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Ousmane Dembélé with a cross.
Corner, Barcelona. Conceded by Víctor Ruiz.
Offside, Villarreal. Sergio Asenjo tries a through ball, but Karl Toko Ekambi is caught offside.
Offside, Villarreal. Álvaro González tries a through ball, but Karl Toko Ekambi is caught offside.
Substitution
Substitution, Barcelona. Malcom replaces Coutinho.
Substitution
Substitution, Villarreal. Karl Toko Ekambi replaces Gerard Moreno.
Foul by Sergio Busquets (Barcelona).
Mario Gaspar (Villarreal) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Attempt missed. Coutinho (Barcelona) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Lionel Messi.
Attempt missed. Carlos Bacca (Villarreal) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Santi Cazorla.
Sergio Busquets (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Santiago Cáseres (Villarreal).
Offside, Barcelona. Lionel Messi tries a through ball, but Coutinho is caught offside.
Substitution
Substitution, Barcelona. Carles Aleñá replaces Arturo Vidal.
Attempt missed. Santi Cazorla (Villarreal) left footed shot from outside the box is too high from a direct free kick.
Booking
Jordi Alba (Barcelona) is shown the yellow card.
Foul by Arturo Vidal (Barcelona).
Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Substitution
Substitution, Villarreal. Carlos Bacca replaces Manu Trigueros.
Attempt blocked. Álvaro González (Villarreal) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Santi Cazorla.
