Barça defeated 10-man hosts Villarreal to take their eighth straight La Liga win and move four points clear at the top of the table.
Barcelona wingers Rafinha and Lamine Yamal led the Catalan giants to a 2-0 win over 10-a-side Villarreal, leading them four points clear at the top of La Liga.
On Sunday, Villarreal’s Renato Veiga was sent off for a late lunge on teenager Yamal before half-time, after Brazil international Rafinha converted an early penalty.
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The 18-year-old scored his second goal against home side Barça midway through the second half as Hansi Flick’s side regained the advantage over second-placed Real Madrid and won their eighth straight league match.
Villarreal moved up to fourth place after Atletico Madrid beat Girona 3-0.
Flick launched into a fiery defense on Saturday for Rafinha, who was not named in FIFA’s Team of the Year earlier this week, and the winger was quick to return the favor to his coach.
Rafinha put in an all-action performance in the match, which was played at Villarreal’s Estadio de la Ceramica instead of Miami after La Liga’s plans to host the match in the United States were scrapped in October.
Barça had a poor defense and struggled in their build-up play, but the quality of wingers Rafinha and Yamal and the excellent performance of goalkeeper João García made for an entertaining match.
Rafinha drew a foul from Santi Comesana to earn a penalty at the other end after Jules Kounde blocked a shot by Villarreal striker Ayoze Perez.
The winger fired it confidently and almost added a second goal with a fine shot from distance, but it bounced off the bar.
As Villarreal fought back, Kounde sent a cross into his own net, but the goal was disallowed due to offside during the build-up.
Barca stopper João Garcia saved Alejandro Balde’s mistake from Tajon Buchanan as Villarreal almost equalized.
The visitors’ job was made easier when Veiga was given an unnecessary red card for an ugly late lunge on Yamal before the game started.
The champions got their second goal in the 63rd minute when Frenkie de Jong converted Yamal’s shot after a scramble inside the box.
João García made some spectacular saves to deny Rafa Marín and Jorge Mikautadze, helping Barça end 2026 with three points from their last three games and a third clean sheet.
Kounde was forced off with an injury before the end, and Flick’s back problems could worsen after Andreas Christensen was diagnosed with a partially torn knee ligament.
Barça ended the year in better shape than rivals Real Madrid, who beat Sevilla 2-0 on Saturday, but there are still plenty of concerns for Barca themselves.
Barcelona captain De Jong says his team has achieved its goal of finishing the year top of the league and will take a break until the league restarts in early January.
“Villarreal are very quick on the counter. They have talented players up front. We could have been a little better, but… we need to be a little better organised,” he said.
“But I felt that we were better on the pitch. It’s not necessarily comfortable, but I think we deserved to win.”
Villarreal captain Dani Parejo said he was satisfied with his team’s performance, apart from conceding a penalty.
“We had a lot of really good chances. We could have led by more than one point by halftime,” he said.
“Right now it feels like everything is against us. The team hasn’t scored much against us, but I’m happy with the image we showed, how we played with 10 men against a great team. We showed a great attitude.”
