By Betsefy
Barcelona have bounced back from their Clasico defeat with a 3-0 victory over Villarreal at Camp Nou this evening.
Fresh from winning the Gerd Muller Trophy for world’s most prolific striker at the Ballon d’Or ceremony, Robert Lewandowski continued in the same vein with a quickfire brace in the first half.
Ansu Fati then completed a 10-minute blitz before the interval to blow away a Villarreal defence that had only conceded three times all season before this evening.
The victory takes Xavi‘s side back to within three points of leaders Real Madrid, who inflicted their first league defeat of the season on them in El Clasico last weekend.
It had been Villarreal’s best-ever start to a season in defensive terms with only three goals shipped in their opening nine games, but Barcelona doubled that tally in a ruthless eight-minute spell in the first half.
Unsurprisingly, it was Lewandowski who was the chief tormentor, breaking the deadlock shortly after the half-hour mark with a smart turn and finish inside the area.
That was the 600th goal of his glittering career for club and country, and he wasted no time in setting off towards the next milestone with number 601 just four minutes later.
While the Poland international was forced to wriggle his way away from some close marking for the opener, his second saw him given far too much time and space to curl into the far corner from the edge of the box – his 11th goal in 10 La Liga games this season.
Fati then added a quickfire third to put the game beyond doubt before half time, initially somehow only scrambling the ball against the post from point-blank range but then flicking it over the line after the rebound had bounced fortuitously back to him.
The goal was Fati’s fourth in five games against Villarreal, making him them his favourite opponent, and he could have had more too having squandered an earlier opening in the first half.
Villarreal offered little reply as Barcelona cruised to the victory, with the visitors now winless and goalless in five successive away league games.
By contrast, Barcelona have now won their last four home league games without conceding.
