Barcelona 3 - 0 Villarreal: 5 talking points

Defeating Villarreal 3-0 comfortably at the Camp Nou today, Barcelona look incredibly strong going into the international break. This victory takes them to the top of the table over second-placed Real Madrid, who lost their game against Sevilla. This has put Barcelona in a strong position going into the Clasico, winning which will give them a mammoth six-point lead over the rival team from Madrid.The game began with some early pressure from Villarreal and it took some time for Barcelona to find their way into the game. The first half was uneventful despite a couple of chances from either side. The second half was a lot different and Barcelona completely dominated the game.A misplaced pass from Bruno Soriano led to Neymar scoring the first goal, which was later followed by a penalty from Luis Suarez. The Brazilian showed some great skill with the third goal to end the night with a comfortable score of 3-0.Here are the major talking points from the game:

#1 Things improving for Barcelona

Things had not been going right for Barcelona in the past few weeks. There have been injuries, losses, suspensions and what not. But finally, things seem to have started going right for the club. While Ivan Rakitic did get injured last week, Andres Iniesta has returned, providing the much needed creativity in the midfiled. Sergi Roberto seems to be in the form of his life and unless there are any more injuries, it should be all fine for the cules.

Lionel Messi may not be back yet but Neymar and Suarez are doing a more than capable job of spearheading arguably the strongest attacking lineup in the world. Munir is not doing a bad job either, massively helping the other two with the regular scoring.

The one thing that had been bothering the team the most was the defensive performance, which seems to be improving with each passing game. Jordi Alba played a great game and even Pique gave an improved performance. Mathieu too didn’t fail to step up in Mascherano’s absence.

#2 Neymar shines once again

Lionel Messi’s injury was a major setback for Barcelona, among the worst things that could have happened to the squad. The one good thing that has come out of the injury though is that it has shown how great a player Neymar is.

Having been overshadowed by the Argentinain, Neymar has showed some scrumptious flashes of brilliance these past few weeks. The last goal today where he recieved the ball in the centre, flicked it over his and the defender’s head, turned a circle and tucked it into the net is probably one of the best goals he has ever scored.

The goals aside, he played an amazing game the whole time he was on the pitch. Barring a few anger issues, everything about him makes him the perfect replacement for Lionel Messi at Barcelona in the coming years.

#3 Villarreal losing momentum

Despite losing out one of their best players Luciano Vietto to Atletico Madrid, Villarreal had a great start to the season. Leading the league table after seven gameweeks, they are now sitting at the fifth place just after a mere four more games. While they did manage to get a victory against Sevilla last week, they are still not looking the same side as the beginning of the season when they comfortably defeated the likes of Athletic Bilbao and Atletico Madrid.

Looking at their explosive start, much is being expected of Marcelino's squad this season, which has been strengthened by the inclusion of many known players including the likes of Victor Ruiz, Denis Suarez and Roberto Soldado. These new players need to step up if the Yellow Submarine is to stand any chance of finishing in the top four and qualifying for the Champions League.

#4 Busquets\' consistency

While there has been much talk of Neymar and Luis Suarez, this defensive midfielder’s back to back amazing performances have gone unnoticed. Sergio Busquets too was at his usual best last night, helping remarkably in defense and attack.

His interception of Soriano’s wayward pass and an amzaing ball forward to Neymar led to Barcelona’s first goal of the night. While he was certainly good with the interceptions, he also initiated a couple of counter attacks at the back. He was also instrumental in defense, covering up for Pique and Mathieu whenever they went forward.

With Rakitic and Mascherano’s absence, Busquets will have a pivotal role to play in the upcoming clasico. Much responsibility rests on his shoulders and if he can keep up this form coming back from the international break, things should be fine for Barcelona.

#5 Barcelona in a strong position for the clasico

With Real Madrid’s loss to Sevilla, Barcelona are in a very strong position going into the clasico. Already three points ahead of Los Blancos, winning the Clasico will put them in a very comfortable position which should last for most of the season.

League positions aside, the players have performed amazingly well in the last couple of games and are expected to carry the momentum into the grudge match. Even without the presence of the magician Lionel Messi, there haven’t been any problems as far as the attacking department is concerned. So even if he ends up missing the Clasico, things are not expected to go that badly for the Blaugrana.

While Neymar and Suarez have been playing some of their best football, Cristiano Ronaldo has only been a shadow of his former self in the past few weeks. He will certainly need to step up his game for Real Madrid to even have a slight chance of taking the top spot back from their Catalan rivals.