Barcelona 3-0 Villarreal: Player Ratings

Barcelona beat an impressive Villarreal side 3-0 in a thrilling match at Camp Nou and moved to the top of the league table while Villarreal remain fifth. With all the three goals coming through the complete domination of Barcelona in the second half thanks to the unstoppable duo of Neymar Jr. (who scored two goals) and Luis Suarez (one goal), the first half saw Barcelona leading in terms of possession for long spells and Villarreal in terms of opportunities and disciplined defence.

It was Barcelona who had the upper hand during most of the match but Villarreal fought well- particularly in the first half. The Yellow Submarine were well organized and showed Barcelona why they’re one of the most difficult teams to face in La Liga but by the end of the second half, after being completely dominated, they didn’t have any positives to take away.

Barcelona’s breakthrough came through a glorious pass by Busquets to Neymar who finished it into the bottom corner. The second was a penalty taken by Luis Suarez after Jaume Costa knocked over Munir inside the box. The third goal by Neymar, however, was a work of art and the cherry on top. The Brazilian flicked the ball over a defender before he buried the shot into the net.

Here are the player ratings from the game (out of 10):

Barcelona

Claudio Bravo - 8

Bravo made a great save at the near post a few seconds before the half time whistle was blown to deny Samu Castillejo the opening goal of the match. A lot of skill was also seen from him when his footwork saw Soldado clutching thin air unable to get a hold of him or the ball.

Gerard Pique – 7

Gerard Pique had his excellent moments in the match. However, he brought himself a yellow for bringing down Denis Suarez on the edge of the box. He was later subbed off for Marc Bartra.

Jeremy Mathieu - 5

Mathieu received the first of the plenty yellows of the match for a clumsy late challenge on Soldado. He also attempted a shot at goal but had his attempt saved well by Areola. He needs to improve on dealing with counter attacks and had a few mess ups.

Jordi Alba - 7

Alba was great, as usual. With him coming out to score a goal, his few chances were stopped by Areola. It was more like banter when Neymar crossed so that Alba could score a header. There was hard work as usual in addition to the goal in this game.

Sergio Busquets – 9

Continuing to astonish everyone, one of the best performers of the match was Sergio Busquets who played a critical role in the first goal with a magical pass to Neymar who netted the ball in. Busquets’ intelligent positioning in the lead up ensured that he made an interception and got the ball. With that performance, he showed why he’s a one-of-a-kind player.

Andres Iniesta - 9

Just like Busquets, Iniesta was one of the best performers of the match. Playing like he’s 24, Iniesta showed great footwork and gave the crowd what they came to see. Getting very harshly booked for dissent was the only negative, but he showed well enough throughout the game with his incredible passes that age means nothing when there’s class.

Sergi Roberto – 8

He was brilliant in his passing and positioning. He, however, needs to improve his shooting. Could have scored late on but overall was very impressive. He was an example today of what confidence can do to a player. His level has risen sharply, he’s more complete in all respects, and this season it has continued to pay for him.

Neymar – 9

Neymar had an excellent match with two goals. The first was through a beautiful pass by Busquets which was netted by him and the third goal which was the best of the lot was a cross from Suarez which was taken by Neymar who then flicked the ball over the lone defender near him and finished it into the back of the net. It was his 11th goal of the season, taking him to the top as leading goal-scorer of the league.

Luis Suarez - 8

It was another fantastic performance by Luis Suarez. Contributing with one goal and one assist, Suarez helped his team, yet again, to victory. Suarez took the penalty after Costa was booked for a lunge on Munir inside the box, after which Suarez converted from the spot taking Barcelona two goals up. Suarez was also booked along with Neymar for dissent.

Munir - 7

Munir received a standing ovation when he was subbed off, indicating his good performance. He was composed in attack and also offered great defensive presence. He had an average first half but really improved in the second half.

Substitutes:

Marc Bartra – N/A

Bartra replaced Gerard Pique for the last ten minutes of the game and Barcelona hardly had any defending to do in this period.

Sandro Ramirez - 6

He was the first substitution for Barcelona when he replaced Munir and played for 14 minutes. He could have played those few minutes slightly better but did not make any major errors and worked hard.

Villareal

Alphonse Areola – 7

It was wonderful goalkeeping by Areola who overall had a very good game. He made some fine saves but couldn’t stop the three brilliant goals. For a score that could have been more than it was, it was quite a good performance by him.

Mario – 6

Mario received the first yellow card for Villarreal for a foul on Neymar. From Villarreal’s previous match, only four players from that group of players got a start in this game, Mario being one of them.

Daniele Bonera – 7

Daniele was booked for a late challenge on Neymar. It was a good test for him and he lived up to the fans’ excitement of him starting by putting up a decent performance.

Victor Ruiz – 7

One of the few players from Villarreal who did a pretty decent job. He was crucial in the first half and played a big role in defence.

Jaume Costa – 5

Costa handed Barcelona their second goal by taking down Munir at the edge of the box and also getting himself a yellow. He attempted to send a some defence-splitting passes but due to Barcelona’s defensive alertness the attacks were repeatedly rendered ineffective.

Dos Santos – 8

Dos Santos was perhaps the best Villarreal player in the match. He was fortunate to escape a yellow card following his late challenge on Alves leaving him on the deck.

Tomas Pina - 6

Pina made his presence felt for Villarreal early on with some tasty challenges. However, he was the first substitution made for Villarreal when he was subbed off for Bakambu. It was perhaps a positive change for the team, however strange as it was having a midfielder for a forward.

Bruno Soriano – 7

Villarreal threatened on counters as captain Bruno delivered a super through ball into Suarez which made Villarreal show their ability to threaten with their pace early on in the first half.

Samu Castillejo – 8

Castillejo’s first effort was futile as the ball went over the crossbar but he almost put his team in front and broke the deadlock with Villarreal’s best chance of the match in the first half, just seconds before the half time. His low strike, however, was saved by Bravo.

Denis Suarez – 6

Starting for Villarreal today, Denis Suarez attempted to create a few chances. He did have a couple of good crosses in and battled well with the full backs but despite playing the whole game had little impact on either side of the pitch.

Roberto Soldado - 7

Soldado was one of the best players for Villarreal and it seemed like he was fighting a one-man battle in that Villarreal attack at some point. The visitors came close to taking the lead as Soldado found a yard of space outside the box before striking one towards the bottom corner, but his effort was just wide.

Substitutes:

Cedric Bakambu – 6

Although it was a positive change for Villarreal to bring on Bakambu, with the way Barcelona was pressing, it would be very hard for him to make an impact on the way the match was going.

Samuel Garcia - N/A

Bringing on Samuel for Castillejo was a change that gave the substitute little time to impact the game.