Barcelona will go away and come away with a 1-goal win – that’s the norm in La Liga this season. There is no exception to that rule even today. Jarvi Hernandez’s Barca scored a double hat-trick to beat Villarreal 1-0 at Villarreal’s home ground with a 1-goal margin.
Barcelona won with Pedri’s only goal in the 18th minute. After playing 21 matches, the Catalan superpowers were 11 points ahead of their nearest rival Real Madrid. Barca, however, have played one match more than Real. Barcelona’s sixth straight win in the league is 56 points. Real’s fifth FIFA Club World Cup win is 45 points in 20 matches.
However, the victory against Villarreal was not easy for Barca. Until the very last moment of the match, Barcelona had to stay away for fear of conceding a goal. In the 90th minute, Villarreal sent the ball into Barca’s net. But Samu Chukwueze’s goal was disallowed by the linesman’s offside flag.
In the added time of the match, Barca once again survived in the strength of the defense. Ronald Arauho saved this time in exchange for a corner. And at the very last minute, the players of Villarreal surrounded the referee demanding a penalty. Jules Kunde caught the ball, they claimed. However, VAR informed that there was no incident to give a penalty. The referee blew the final whistle after hearing that verdict. And that confirmed Villarreal’s third consecutive loss.
Arauho was China’s wall throughout the match with that last-minute save. Barca goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen did not go short. Villarreal’s attacks were repeatedly stopped by Araujo and Ter Stegen.
Barcelona wasted the opportunity to score. Villarreal goalkeeper Pepe Reina kept Robert Lewandowski, Rafinha and Pedro from scoring. However, Raina could not stop Pedri in the 18th minute. Pedri scored from a wonderful pass by Laver. 20-year-old Pedri’s sixth goal in the league this season.
And with the sixth consecutive victory in the league, Barca went a little further on the way to winning the league for the first time after 2019.