Villarreal 2-2 Barcelona: Five talking points

Messi couldn’t influence the game muchVillarreal gave a spirited performance in the second half as they fought back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 against Barcelona. The Catalans started the game on the backfoot but took the lead with their first shot on target after a fortunate ricochet in the box led to Ivan Rakitic scoring into an open net.Neymar then won a penalty just before half-time which he calmly slotted into the back of the net. That should have been game over but Villarreal scored twice in five minutes in the second half, first through Cedric Bokambu and then with a sloppy own goal from Jeremy Mathieu. The draw meant Barcelona extended their lead to 9 points over Atletico Madrid who lost on Saturday.

#1 Barcelona\'s see-saw form from the penalty spot continues

Barcelona’s penalty record has been woeful this season. The Catalans have managed to somehow squander several penalty opportunities this campaign. Their usual penalty taker has been Lionel Messi but having missed his last one against Getafe in their previous game he let Neymar take it.

The Brazilian kept a cool head to put the ball straight down the middle to give Barcelona a 2-0 lead. But he paused for a while before he took it. It just goes to show how low on confidence the team have been from the spot.

Barcelona have won 16 penalties this term the most by a single team in La Liga since the 98/99 season but have only converted about half of them. Neymar has won the most penalties compared to any other player in the top 5 leagues in 2015/16

Barcelona have been almost perfect but while Messi, Suarez and Neymar have been scoring spectacular goals this season it is hard to believe they are so inconsistent from 12 yards.

#2 Villarreal on course for Champions League finish

Villarreal were excellent throughout the 90 minutes against Barcelona.Not many teams have been able to match the Catalans this season but the home side today were well worth their point. They even had chances to win the game but couldn’t take advantage.

Denis Suarez was one of their more creative players on the pitch and caused chaos in Barcelona’s defense. It was his run and shot that led to a tap-in for Cedric Bokambu to score the first goal for the home side. Villarreal are 4^th in the in the La Liga table 6 points ahead of Celta Vigo who have a game in hand.

Head coach Marcelino will take this as a point gained considering the strength of the opposition and it puts the club in a strong position to qualify for the Champions League with only eight games left to play in the season.

#3 Barcelona\'s defensive fragilities exposed

Barcelona can consider themselves lucky to come away with a win having not played to their potential today. Villarreal ran them ragged at times and could have gotten the winner late on if not for a crucial tackle by Mascherano.

The team have several issues at the back and it was visible even in the first half. Gerard Pique was booked early on in the game and should have received his marching orders after a deliberate handball when he went in for a sliding challenge but stopped the ball with his hands

In the second half, Pique was substituted for Jeremy Mathieu and Barcelona conceded just two minutes after he came on with Bokambu scoring from Bravo's parry. And five minutes later it was his own goal that gifted Villarreal their equalizer. Even Dani Alves looked out of sorts after replacing Aleix Vidal, with several of his passes going astray.

Barcelona will have to ensure they fix their defensive frailties or it might come back to haunt them.

#4 Luis Suarez has an off day

Luis Suarez failed to find the back of the net today in an unusual game for the striker. The Uruguayan was hardly involved in many of Barcelona’s attacks and when he did get the chance he failed to convert.

Suarez was on the bench in Barcelona’s game against Getafe last weekend and lost out on the race for the Pichichi award. He did score against Arsenal in midweek with a wonder strike so everyone expected him to grab a goal or two in today’s game as well.

But he never really looked like scoring as his performance looked lethargic and lacked a spark. Luckily for him, Neymar and Lionel Messi had decent games with the Brazilian getting on the score sheet as well.

But Luis Enrique will not be very worried about his form and will expect his frontman to be back and firing after the international break. The only question that remains is if he will be able to catch up with Cristiano Ronaldo in the scoring charts

#5 Barcelona still on course for the title

Despite dropping two points against Villarreal today the Catalans still have a healthy lead a the top of the table. Barcelona are nine points ahead of Atletico Madrid in second with only eight games to play.

Atletico lost to relegation-threatened Sporting Gijon on Saturday losing 2-1. That means the lead has actually increased by a point and Atletico have lost an opportunity to close the gap slightly on the leaders.

Real Madrid though can still reduce their points gap between themselves and those above them with a win over Sevilla. But there is no doubt that Barcelona are still in complete command in this title race and should not lose it from here.

The club have also now made it 39 games unbeaten across all competitions and are only 4 games away from equalling Juventus’ record of 43 games unbeaten which is the second highest in Europe. Will they remain unbeaten for the rest of the campaign?