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Barcelona may well and truly be back. The Catalans finally showed glimpses of their past selves as they ran riot against a dangerous Villarreal side to move closer to Real Madrid in the La Liga table.
Barcelona may not be able to win La Liga this season but the Blaugrana took to the pitch today with a point to prove. Much has been said about Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann this past week but both superstars did their talking on the pitch with performances worthy of golden crowns.
Antoine Griezmann and Luis Suarez scored stunners in the first half to put Villarreal on the back foot before a late strike from Ansu Fati capped off a memorable victory for Quique Setien's men.
Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann rule the roost as Barcelona thumps Villarreal
Barcelona showed plenty of intent right from the outset and Jordi Alba's excellent low cross resulted in an own goal within the first five minutes. Villarreal hit back immediately with a brilliant counter-attack that saw former Barcelona youth product Gerard Moreno get on the scoresheet.
Barcelona did not feel bogged down by Villarreal's equaliser and a magical Lionel Messi dribble resulted in a brilliant top-corner goal for Luis Suarez. Barcelona immediately took control of the game after the cooling break but Paco Alcacer and Gerard Moreno continued to threaten on the counter.
Former Barcelona striker Paco Alcacer limped off with an injury and was replaced by a lively Carlos Bacca. Villarreal would only suffer more misery, however, as Antoine Griezmann proved his mettle to Barcelona with a sublime Messi-like chip into the Villarreal goal.
Barcelona continued to dominate in the second half and some beautiful one-touch football from La Masia graduates Riqui Puig, Lionel Messi, and Sergi Roberto saw the Barcelona captain find the back of the net. The goal, however, was ruled out by VAR as Arturo Vidal was marginally offside during the build-up.
Barcelona seized the initiative after the cooling break and a beautiful lateral pass from Lionel Messi nearly led to a Martin Braithwaite goal. Ansu Fati made no mistake with his finish, however, and got the better of Raul Albiol to score a brilliant goal.
Sergio Asenjo was monumental in Villarreal's goal and made a wonderful save from Martin Braithwaite's header after a stunning Lionel Messi free-kick smashed against the post. Barcelona picked up a massive morale-boosting victory today and will be happy with a magnificent performance.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen - 7/10
Ter Stegen was unfortunate to palm Santi Cazorla's shot straight into the path of Gerard Moreno but made amends later in the first half with an excellent block from Carlos Bacca. Barcelona's German wall did not have much to do for the rest of the game and put in a typically reliable performance.
Gerard Pique - 7/10
Barcelona's most experienced defender had a good game today and marshalled the Catalan side's defensive lines with finesse. Gerard Pique was arguably the only defender who was not at fault for Villarreal's goal and dealt with the Yellow Submarines' formidable front line fairly well.
Clement Lenglet - 6.5/10
Clement Lenglet was primarily at fault for the first goal and was caught out of position by a brilliant run from Paco Alcacer. The Barcelona defender heeded the wake-up call and did not put a foot wrong for the rest of the match.
Jordi Alba - 7.5/10
Barcelona left-back Jordi Alba was instrumental in the first goal of the game and drilled a low cross into the box that took a touch from Pau Torres. The pacy full-back nearly got on to the scoresheet himself but his low shot went straight into the arms of Sergio Asenjo.
Nelson Semedo - 6.5/10
Nelson Semedo was a constant threat on Barcelona's right flank but was not as influential as he usually is, given that most of Barcelona's attacks came from the left side. The Portuguese right-back was caught out of position for Villarreal's opening goal but grew into the match and was composed on the ball.
Sergio Busquets - 7/10
Barcelona's puppeteer was typically assured in the middle of the pitch and displayed some brilliant skill to turn away from his marker in the first half. The Spaniard's omniscient sense of positioning allowed Barcelona's attackers to raid Villarreal's goal.
Sergi Roberto - 8/10
Sergi Roberto made a massive statement with his performance today. Despite starting on the left side of midfield, Roberto was Barcelona's primary driving force and his burst of energy effectively created the side's first goal.
Roberto also picked out Lionel Messi in the box in the second half but the Argentine's goal was ruled out for offside.
Arturo Vidal - 6.5/10
Arturo Vidal is not at his best at the moment but played his heart out on the pitch today. The Barcelona midfielder should have scored in the first half after finding himself at the end of Antoine Griezmann's pass but smashed his shot straight at Sergio Asenjo.
Lionel Messi - 8.5/10
Lionel Messi was Barcelona's creator-in-chief yet again tonight. Playing in a central position behind Luis Suarez and Antoine Griezmann, the Argentine genius dictated play and bagged two assists.
The Barcelona captain was unlucky not to score tonight and had one shot smash against the post and another successful strike ruled out because Arturo Vidal was in an offside position during the build-up.
Antoine Griezmann - 9/10
The moment that every single Barcelona fan has been so desperately waiting for is finally here. Antoine Griezmann was all over Villarreal in the first half and forced the own goal from Pau Torres. The French striker also played a brilliant ball to Arturo Vidal but the Chilean failed to score.
Griezmann's crowning moment, however, came at the end of the first half. The striker summoned his inner Lionel Messi with a wonderful lob over the goalkeeper from outside the box to give a fitting answer to his critics.
Luis Suarez - 8/10
Luis Suarez scored an absolute stunner in the first half for Barcelona. The Uruguayan striker latched on to a lay-off by Lionel Messi and curled the ball beautifully past Sergio Asenjo. Barcelona's premier striker was sharper than usual tonight and nearly scored from a tight angle in the second half.
Substitutes
Ivan Rakitic - 7/10
Ivan Rakitic came on to the pitch for Nelson Semedo and put in a good performance in Barcelona's midfield. The Croatian played a brilliant through-ball for Lionel Messi and seems to have sharpened his passing skills since the La Liga restart.
Riqui Puig - 7.5/10
Barcelona starlet Riqui Puig was a breath of fresh air when he came on to the pitch and took up Lionel Messi's position as an attacking midfielder. The youngster linked up well with fellow La Masia prospect Ansu Fati and displayed glimpses of his fantastic passing range.
Ansu Fati - 8/10
Ansu Fati seems to be scoring goals for fun at the moment. The youngster massacred Raul Albiol on the left flank and wrong-footed Sergio Asenjo to score an excellent late goal to widen the gap between Barcelona and Villarreal.
Ronald Araujo - 6.5/10
Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo came on for Gerard Pique late in the match. The young La Masia graduate made a few good blocks but was unable to make much of an impact on the match.
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