Villarreal 0-2 Barcelona: eight consecutive victories and winter champions in LaLiga!

Fútbol Club Barcelona closed 2025 as the leader and winter champion in LaLiga EA Sports. On Sunday, the Barça team did their homework as visitors against Villarreal (0-2) in the match that, in principle, was to be played in Miami. Finally, the Estadio de la Cerámica was the scene of the fifteenth victory for the Catalans in the tournament, their eighth in a row.

Hansi Flick could not count on Pedri González or Andreas Christensen, both injured before the trip to Castellón. With **Fermín López** and **Frenkie de Jong** returning to the XI, Barça took an early lead thanks to a penalty earned and converted by **Raphinha**.

The home team, for their part, went into halftime with a ten-man advantage after the expulsion of Renato Veiga. In the second half, Lamine Yamal extended the lead in the 63rd minute for a clearly superior Barça against a depleted Castellón side that put up a fight from start to finish. The Catalans close out the year with 46 points, 4 ahead of Real Madrid.

A fired-up Raphinha put Barça ahead at La Cerámica

The match began at a very high pace. Villarreal caused damage on the flanks, taking advantage of the speed of Tajon Buchanan and Alberto Moleiro on the wings. The Catalans made several errors in possession, with failed passes from Gerard Martín and Frenkie de Jong that could have been costly for the Catalan defense.

However, Barça struck first at La Cerámica thanks to Raphinha. In the 10th minute, the Brazilian was brought down by Santi Comesaña inside the box, a clear penalty immediately signaled by referee Javier Alberola Rojas. The Brazilian took the ball and fooled goalkeeper Luiz Júnior with a right-footed shot

Rapha himself came very close to a brace in the 16th minute, with a thunderous shot that hit the crossbar after a set-piece play. The home team, however, continued to pose a threat. In the 17th minute, Koundé scored an own goal while trying to clear a cross from Sergi Cardona from the flank, but luckily the player from Castellón was offside.

Villarreal went down to ten men at halftime: ugly tackle by Veiga on Lamine

Renato Veiga, sent off for a hard foul on Lamine Yamal

The match was very balanced, with a midfield of free transit for both teams and shared chances, even with a greater number of shots (8) by the home team in the first half. Marcelino's men, however, went from more to less and went into halftime trailing on the scoreboard and in numbers.

In the 38th minute, a late and unnecessary tackle by Renato Veiga on Lamine Yamal resulted in the Portuguese player being sent off. The defender attempted to prevent the '10' of Barça from controlling the ball with a slide tackle directly at his left ankle.

The foul, due to its intent and harshness, deserved a red card and Alberola Rojas did not hesitate to send off the Portuguese player, while Barça's medical staff attended to Lamine's sore ankle. Fortunately, the winger did not suffer any injury. 

Lamine Yamal sealed the match in the second half

Despite Veiga's expulsion, Marcelino kept his lineup unchanged after halftime. Hansi Flick also made no adjustments at the break. After fifteen minutes of Barcelona dominance, but with little penetration, the German reinforced the attack with the substitutions of **Lewandowski and Rashford for Ferran and Fermín**, respectively.

Both the 'Shark' and the player from Huelva had a rather dull afternoon, although the '16' came close to scoring minutes before being substituted, but Luiz Júnior was alert to block a one-on-one situation caused by a through ball from **Lamine Yamal**.

Just after the double substitution, Lamine sealed the match after a bizarre play inside the box. Villarreal's defense half-cleared a ball that neither Lewandowski nor De Jong managed to finish, but the ball fell to the '10' and he blasted it past the opposing goalkeeper with a right-footed shot.

With the 0-2 score, Flick rested Eric García, bringing on Marc Bernal. Villarreal tried to score, but Joan García was immense in goal with up to three meritorious saves against Mikautadze and Moleiro.

Barça closes 2025 with a +4 lead in LaLiga

With ten minutes left, Flick brought on Marc Casadó for Koundé, with Villarreal already resigned to their fate. Rashford came close to making it 0-3 in the 89th minute, but Rafa Marín managed to clear the Englishman's shot off the line, after a good through ball from De Jong

With the victory, Barcelona closes the year with a 4-point lead over Real Madrid at the top and +9 over Atlético de Madrid, currently third. Villarreal drops to fourth place, 11 points behind the leader, but with two games in hand.

Prior to Barça's visit, Marcelino's team had only dropped 2 points out of a possible 21 at La Cerámica. The Blaugrana squad, for their part, now has 38 consecutive matchdays scoring in the tournament and has earned their last 24 points this 2025. 

Match Report: Villarreal CF 0-2 FC Barcelona

• Villarreal CF, 0: Luiz Júnior; Navarro, Marín, Veiga, Pedraza; Comesaña, Parejo (Macia, min. 75), Buchanan, Moleiro; Pépé (Oluwaseyi, min. 75) and Ayoze Pérez (Mikautadze, min. 64).
• FC Barcelona, 2: Joan García; Koundé (Casadó, min. 79), Cubarsí, Gerard Martín, Balde; Eric García (Bernal, min. 65), Frenkie de Jong; Lamine Yamal, Fermín (Rashford, min. 62), Raphinha; Ferran Torres (Lewandowski, min. 62).
• Goals: 0-1, Raphinha (min. 11, pen.); 0-2, Lamine Yamal (min. 63)
• Referee: Javier Alberola Rojas. He awarded a penalty for Santi Comesaña's foul on Raphinha in the first half. He sent off Renato Veiga with a straight red for a nasty tackle on Lamine Yamal. For Barça, he cautioned Frenkie de Jong.
• Stadium: La Cerámica in Villarreal.
• Incidents: match corresponding to matchday 17 of LaLiga EA Sports 2025/26.