La Liga 2018/19, Villareal 4-4 Barcelona - 5 Talking Points

Barcelona snatched a late draw at Villareal in an exciting game in the La Liga which ended in an astonishing 4-4 scoreline.

Ernesto Valverde rested key players like Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique for Barcelona, but it did not affect them early on. Philippe Coutinho opened the scoring when he tapped in from Malcolm's low cross. Malcolm doubled Barcelona's lead, heading in from Arturo Vidal's cross.

Villareal made it 2-1 when Samuel Chukwueze scored in the 50th minute and the game was in the balance at the interval. Karl Toko Ekambi equalized for Villareal in the second half, when he squeezed in a shot from a really tight angle. Villareal took the lead through Vicente Iborra and Carlos Bacca made it 4-2 in the closing stages.

The home side looked to be on course for three points, but substitute Lionel Messi scored a cracking free-kick to make it 4-3. Luis Suarez completed the comeback when he equalized with the last kick of the game to end a frenetic match.

The loss was a hard pill for Villareal to swallow, who looked so close to the win. Meanwhile, Barcelona's unbeaten run continued. Here are the major talking points from the game.

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#5 Two moments of brilliance crush Villareal hearts

Messi came from the bench and scored a wonderful free-kick

When Carlos Bacca scored in the 80th minute, it looked as though Villareal were headed for a memorable win. They were 4-2 up against Barcelona and the league leaders had ten minutes left to conjure up a comeback. The score stayed the same until the 90th minute before Barcelona won a free-kick on the edge of the box.

Up stepped Lionel Messi, and he buried a pile-driver past Sergio Asenjo in the top corner. The free-kick was on the side of the goalkeeper, but the unerring power and accuracy carried it into the net. As the match neared its conclusion, Barcelona won a corner. Villareal cleared it, but only as far as Luis Suarez who thundered in a low volley. The Comeback complete was complete.

Villareal performed admirably, but Messi and Suarez undid their performance with two moments of brilliance. It was hard to take for the home crowd and players and understandably so.

#4 Malcolm exploits a rare opportunity to the full extent

Malcolm scored and assisted a goal

Malcolm has endured a tough debut season in Barcelona until now. The Brazilian was signed from Bordeaux in the summer, but he had made only one league start before this game. Ernesto Valverde handed him the start as Lionel Messi was given a rest. Malcolm played in his preferred right-wing position and he did not disappoint.

He raced onto Sergi Roberto's pass and set up Philippe Coutinho to score the opener. Malcolm doubled the lead soon after when he headed in from Arturo Vidal's cross. Playing on the left, he was able to cut in and he looked dangerous in central areas. He created three chances and completed two dribbles in the game.

Ousmane Dembele is still injured and Coutinho is not in the best phases of his career at the moment. Malcolm definitely showed promise in the game and the Barcelona manager will be pleased to see that. His effectiveness on the right is questionable but Valverde will be tempted to give him a go there.

#3 Chukwueze and Ekambi shine for Villareal

Chukwueze was a constant menace

The duo of Samuel Chukwueze and Karl Toko Ekambi lined up as an attacking duo for Villareal and they ran the show for the Yellow Submarine. Samuel Umtiti and Clement Lenglet were troubled by them throughout the game and the duo will be glad to get done with the game.

Chukwueze scored the first goal for Villareal when he ran onto Santi Cazorla's pass. Ter Stegen saved the shot but he converted the rebound to make it 2-2. Ekambi scored the equalizer as Chukwueze turned provider for his one. Ekambi finished from a tight angle from his strike partner's pass which gave confidence to Villareal.

Both Ekambi and Chukuwueze are fast and their pace was a constant threat to Barcelona's defense. Gerard Pique was sorely missed as Lenglet had a game to forget. If the attacking duo continues to play like this, Villareal's survival chances will increase greatly.

#2 Villareal still hovering too close to danger

Javier Calleja has a tough task ahead of him

Villareal was pretty close to winning this game, a result which would have taken them four points clear of the relegation zone. But it was not to be, and the gap is now a slender two points. With eight games to go, their La Liga status is far from certain.

Celta Vigo in 18th place are their main rivals and Javier Calleja needs to keep them below his side. Villareal is involved in the Europa League as well and they will face Valencia in the quarter-final next week. European knockout matches are always welcome but their priority has to be avoiding relegation.

Going by their performance against Barcelona, they surely have it them to survive. Scoring four times against the leaders is no mean feat. Picking up a couple of wins in the coming games should do the job for them. One can only hope that the two points dropped here won't haunt them at the end.

#1 The league title race is far from over

Valverde will want to seize control of the title on Saturday

Barcelona's lead was in double digits going into this round of fixtures and they looked to be cruising to the title. Atletico's challenge had faded and Barcelona was on a six-game winning streak, looking ominous. But after today, the picture has changed considerably.

Atletico beat Girona 2-0 in a tough game, which had reduced the gap to seven points. Barcelona's draw means that the gap will be eight when Atletico visit Camp Nou on Saturday. That game is a massive one and Diego Simeone's side can cut the gap to five points if they win.

If Barcelona wins this weekend, the race will surely be over. The game is as good as a decider and comes at a crucial point of the season for the Catalans. With a Champions League tie against Manchester United looming, having the league wrapped up will make things a lot easier for the defending Champions.