Barcelona 2 - 0 Villarreal: 3 reasons why Barca won | LaLiga 2018-19

FC Barcelona registered a win against Villarreal on Sunday night at Camp Nou to go one point clear of second-placed Sevilla atop the table. The home side had to play a mediocre but yet tricky game to claim the much needed 3 points. Draws from Sevilla and Atletico Madrid made sure the table looks very tight.

Possessing a carbon copy-like game-play that gives great emphasis to passing the ball around, both La Blaugrana and The Yellow Submarines were expected to pull off an exciting match on Sunday.

With some fine talents on both sides, spectators were glad enough to have seen the surmise proved right, thanks to some flamboyance from players like Ousmane Dembele and Santi Cazorla.

Nevertheless, the party was not in the final third, but rather in the heart of the midfield. Patches of military-like discipline and circus-like theatrics made sure the two-goal match looked more interesting than it actually was.

But let us look at what made the difference for the home side.

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#1 Lack of creativity from Villarreal

Despite having some young and creative players, the visitors failed to flourish

Quite justifiably, this point could be attributed to favouritism towards the world beaters in FC Barcelona, as they were also not at their creative best. But when you come to battle the defending LaLiga champions at their own den, you must be prepared to create more and finish more. It just takes a single chance to kill the match for them.

The visitors seem to have not done justice to their squad on paper. Hitting the post twelve minutes after the start was their best chance, which came at the cost of Lenglet and Ter Stegen's miscommunication.

Against a team that urges all of its players to go out and attack, counter-attacks are the real trump cards. Despite having some young and creative players, the visitors failed to even flourish during the breaks.

#2 Discipline and intent

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On a day that saw some diligent discipline on the field from almost all the players, the visitors went to sleep just when it mattered the most. Only on a couple of occasions were the yellow submarines not behind the ball while defending. But that was enough for players like Gerard Pique and Lionel Messi.

For a team that relies a lot on team-play, discipline would mean to get along with the team. While playing against a similar team, it is pivotal to break away from the norm and add variety to break the monotony.

Well, that was exactly what Dembele provided to his team throughout the match. While Gerrard Pique was getting on top of the ball to break the deadlock from a Dembele cross, none of the defenders were attentive enough even to jump.

The match was still alive until Messi found Carlos Alena in a glorious manner. The losers neither had the strong intent to equalise before the goal nor did they have the discipline to stay alert enough to intercept the through ball for the killer goal.

#3 Substitutions

To ensure all strength, speed, and smartness, the former Bilbao manager had diverse substitutions

Once again the substitutions from Valverde looked highly impressive. Replicating his decision from the mid-week UCL clash against PSV Eindhoven, the manager chose to go for young substitutions.

To our surprise, this time it was the talented Alena who made the difference, but it was not just the introduction of Alena that was a masterstroke by the boss. To ensure all strength, speed, and smartness, the former Bilbao manager had diverse substitutions in his arsenal.

In fact, substituting young Alena over Arturo Vidal, who was playing so good, has to be mentioned. With only a goal making the difference, the match was still alive. The out of the box substitution in young Carlos Alena added a new element.

A brilliant run behind the centre back was enough to meet an inch-perfect Messi through ball to split the defense. By finding the back of the net in swashbuckling fashion, the tie was entirely killed and decided then.