Barca “sinks” Villarreal, moves closer to unbeaten La Liga season
The Catalan team won 5-1 against Villarreal in the make-up match of round 34 of La Liga.
Barcelona 5-1 Villarreal |
Goals: Coutinho 11', Paulinho 16', Messi 45', Dembele 87', 90' - Sansone 54'
Having postponed the match in round 34 to play the King's Cup final, Barca will have to make up the match on the evening of May 9. If they win, the Catalan team will extend their unbeaten streak since the beginning of the La Liga season to 36 consecutive matches.
To pursue the goal, coach Ernesto Valverde fielded the strongest possible squad of Barca. The starting lineup was only missing a few key players compared to last weekend's El Clasico, such as Luis Suarez (injured) and Sergi Roberto (suspended for four matches).
Starting from the right wing, young striker Ousmane Dembele had a brilliant day. In the 11th minute, the French player played a role in the opening goal when he dribbled the ball past goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo, creating an opportunity for Coutinho to run in and score accurately. Dembele also scored two goals for himself with a close-range finish in the 87th minute and a beautiful solo lob in the 90th minute.
|
The expensive star pair Dembele - Coutinho shine together. Photo:Reuters |
Playing in one of his final matches at Barca, captain Andres Iniesta also shone with some top-notch assists. In the 16th minute, the star wearing the number 8 shirt passed the ball to Digne who ran down to cross for Paulinho to raise the score to 2-0. As the first half was about to end, Iniesta once again showed his passing class with a flick for Messi to run down and finish to raise the score to 3-0.
Villarreal also fielded a strong lineup, but they could not keep up with Barca. The visitors only managed to score one goal thanks to a shot that deflected the ball in the 54th minute.
The win over Villarreal was Barca's 43rd unbeaten match in La Liga (including the last seven games of last season), a new record and surpassing the previous record of 38 matches set by Sociedad in the 1980s.
If they avoid defeat in their final two away games against Levante and Sociedad, Barca will go the entire 2017-2018 La Liga season unbeaten. This is something no team has ever done in history.
