“Can sense his aura 100 feet away!”, “He is so solid” – Barcelona fans hail 23-year-old star with ‘mad’ overall game after 3-0 win against Villarreal

Barcelona fans are heralding the talents of Jules Kounde following the defender's performance in his side's 3-0 win over Villarreal on October 20.

The Blaugrana secured a comfortable victory over the Yellow Submarine thanks to a Robert Lewandowski double and an Ansu Fati strike.

Lewandowski struck first in the 31st minute, getting on the end of Jordi Alba's cross to shield off two defenders before firing past Villarreal goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli.

The Pole was at it again in the 35th minute, curling home a delightful effort following good play from Pedri and Gavi.

Fati was then on the scoresheet in the 38th minute, he did miss a tap-in but buried the rebound after Ferran Torres' astute pass.

It was a vital win for Barcelona off the back of a disappointing 3-1 El Clasico defeat to Real Madrid last weekend.

Barca fans were enthused by the performance and none more so than Kounde, who was a standout performer for the Catalan giants.

The Frenchman was a constant presence in defense, nullifying the threat posed by Nicolas Jackson and Arnaut Danjuma.

Kounde made one tackle, two interceptions and a clearance as he forged a surprisingly reliable partnership alongside stand-in centre-back Marcos Alonso.

He arrived at the Nou Camp from Sevilla in the summer for £45 million and is already becoming a fan favorite in Catalonia.

Here are some reactions from Barcelona fans to the French defender's performance against Villarreal:

Barcelona get back on track with win over Villarreal

Barcelona's defeat to Madrid last weekend was their first league loss of the season and came after a disappointing outing in the Champions League.

Xavi's men had just drawn 3-3 with Inter Milan on matchday four of Europe's elite club competition.

Pressure was starting to mount on Barca's credentials to contend for honors this season as they struggled against Los Blancos.

However, they have bounced back with an impressive victory over Villarreal, showing character alongside real attacking intent.

Xavi now possesses a squad brimming with strength in depth, as he was able to drop veteran midfielder Sergio Busquets to the bench.

Frenkie de Jong came in for the Spaniard and laid down a marker of his intentions of continuing to be a regular starter this season.

Alongside this, Lewandowski was back among the goals and his second was a fantastic strike.

They now trail league leaders Madrid by three points and they next host Athletic Bilbao on October 23 looking to keep the winning momentum going.

About the author

Matthew is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who has been covering news, rumors and match reports for close to 3 years. Learning creative writing from University of Essex, he combined his skills and passion for football take up writing for the sport professionally.

Matthew always strives to go beyond a story and offer unique and lesser-known insights, while maintaining an unbiased tone in his articles. His reporting exploits at the company have helped him gain a humungous readership of 25 million, with one of his articles raking in a whopping 724,000 reads.

A Manchester United fan since childhood, Matthew admired Sir Alex Ferguson for his loyalty and brave coaching style. His favorite footballer is Thierry Henry, believing the Frenchman to be uniquely talented and charismatic. An ardent Three Lions fan, England's penalty shootout win over Colombia in 2018 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment of all time, and he believes that Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe will have a Ballon d’Or duopoly after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

He also follows his local EFL League Two clubs AFC Wimbledon and Sutton United, and spends his free time watching and writing about professional wrestling. He also likes to work out, watch movies and go for night outs.

Know More