Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha each scored twice as Barcelona cruised to a 5-1 win against Villarreal, securing their sixth consecutive La Liga victory. The match, held at Villarreal’s Estadio de la Ceramica, was exciting but overshadowed by a potentially serious knee injury to goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who left the field on a stretcher.
Lewandowski opened the scoring with two goals, although he missed a penalty later in the match. Ayoze Perez pulled one back for Villarreal just before half-time, but two of their goals were disallowed. Raphinha and Pablo Torre added further goals to cement Barcelona’s victory.
With this win, Barcelona restored a four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had thrashed Espanyol 4-1 the day before. Despite Eric Garcia’s early red card in a recent Champions League match, coach Hansi Flick started him again in defensive midfield, alongside reserve players Gerard Martin and Sergi Dominguez.
Teenage sensation Lamine Yamal nearly scored early on, hitting the post, before Lewandowski found the net in the 20th minute after a slick assist from Torre. Lewandowski’s second came in the 35th minute, finishing acrobatically off a rebound after Villarreal goalkeeper Diego Conde saved his initial effort.
Villarreal remained dangerous on the counter, and Perez capitalized on a setup from Nicolas Pepe to give the hosts a glimmer of hope.