La Liga 2016/17, Barcelona 4-1 Villarreal: 5 Talking Points

#4 Andres Fernandez’s goalkeeping error and Fran Escriba’s bad tactics

Fernandez didn’t have the best of outings

On a Barcelona counter-attack, Sergi Roberto found Luis Suarez who turned two Villarreal defenders inside out in the box, and the Uruguayan rifled a shot at Andres Fernandez in goal.

The goalkeeper’s handling and positioning were awful and his weak palm could not prevent the ball from hitting the back of the net. It was a clear goalkeeping blunder that sank any hope of a Villarreal comeback as Barcelona went 3-1 up.

This was Suarez’s 35^th goal of the season and despite carving out the chance for himself with his trickery, the goalkeeper Fernandez was clearly at fault.

Fran Escriba’s 4-4-2 formation had no answer to Barcelona’s 4-3-3 and the midfield battle was won by the Blaugrana The Villareal midfield was over-run by Barcelona and perhaps if the manager had crowded the midfield with three in centre, they would have stood a better chance of getting something out of the game.

It was a glaring tactical error that proved crucial in determining the outcome of the game and left Villareal exposed to Barcelona’s deadly attack. The scoreline was still tight at 2-1 but his tactics failed and Villareal lost the game in the end.