Barcelona pick up first away win of the season

Barcelona steal all 3 points away to Villarreal for 1st road win of season

Barcelona’s search for their first away win of the season ended as the Catalans managed to beat Villarreal 3-1. However, the win was less than convincing.

Xavi’s side came out strong in the opening 10-15 minutes of the first half and created a couple of scoring opportunities.

The clearest one came off a sublime Frenkie de Jong pass to Memphis Depay. The Dutch forward had only the keeper to beat but his shot was wide of the mark.

Villarreal wrestled control of the game back to their side and were well on top of Barcelona as the visitors were unable to maintain any sort of spell of possession. The Yellow Submarine had shouts of a penalty after a shot was blocked by Gerard Pique. Replay showed the ball struck his hand but no penalty was given.

The second half followed a similar script with Villarreal playing in the Barcelona half.

But Barcelona finally pulled ahead after a Jordi Alba cross meant for Memphis was deflected. The ball landed right to De Jong who simply had to tap it in. Initially, the goal was ruled off for offside. After consulting VAR, the call was overturned and De Jong was given the goal.

As has been the pattern this season, Barcelona were pushed back and struggled to defend their lead. Villarreal’s Samuel Chukwueze equalized in the 76th minute from a Barcelona throw-in. The Catalan side lost the ball, Pique stepped up but found himself in no man’s land, which gave Chukwueze a clear shot on goal that he took full advantage of.

It was an all too familiar situation for Barcelona. The only question seemed to be whether or not they would crawl away with a draw or drop all three points.

Out of nowhere, Memphis gave Barcelona the lead back in the 88th minute. Following a long ball from Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Villarreal defender Pervis Estupiñan headed the ball right to Memphis who rounded the keeper and cooly slipped the ball into the back of the net, nutmegging Estupiñan in the process.

Philippe Coutinho, who was brought on in the second half, earned a penalty after being fouled in stoppage time. The Brazilian took the spot kick and scored Barcelona’s third goal, sealing the win.

The victory was an important one and the players and coaches knew it given the reaction after the final whistle. The team battled and were second best through long stretches of the game, but a win is a win.

The three points catapult Barcelona into seventh place in La Liga, one point behind Real Betis who they face next week.

It is not far-fetched to say this game is one they lose under Ronald Koeman. Still, there is plenty of work Xavi has to do to get the team playing better. In this case, a win despite a poor display is certain to boost their confidence. They’ll need it not only against Betis but against Bayern Munich as well.