Villarreal hits Barcelona with a crazy five-pointer... and threatens Xavi's future
Barcelona's results crisis continued during the current season, and it suffered a loss in the second match in a row in all competitions.
Barcelona hosted its counterpart, Villarreal, at its Luis Companis Olympic Stadium, in the 22nd round of the Spanish League.
The result of the Barcelona vs. Villarreal match in the Spanish League 2024
Barcelona fell into the trap of a heavy defeat, 3-5, against its guest, Villarreal, after an exciting match in its events.
Villarreal stunned Barcelona in the first half with a goal scored by Gerard Moreno in the 40th minute.
In the 54th minute, Moroccan Elias Akhomache, a former Barcelona player, scored Villarreal's second goal in the match.
But Barcelona rose up within 11 minutes of Premontada, by scoring 3 goals in a row.
The start came from German Ilkay Gundogan, who reduced the gap for his team, Barcelona, in the 60th minute.
Pedri added the equalizer for Barcelona in the 68th minute, before Ivorian Eric Bailly scored Barcelona's third goal by mistake against his team in the 71st minute.
Villarreal refused to give up and succeeded in returning to the match, and scored his third equalizing goal, in the 82nd minute, through Goncalo Guedes.
Barcelona vs Villarreal
Barcelona almost achieved victory after being awarded a penalty kick in the 89th minute, but it was canceled after returning to the video assistant referee technique.
During the last minute of the match, Villarreal snatched the fourth winning goal, in the 98th minute, through Alexander Sorloth.
The excitement continued, and Villarreal scored his fifth goal in the crazy match, before the final whistle, through Jose Luis Morales.
The future of Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez has become in great doubt, in light of the continuing disastrous results of the Catalan team, and its second loss in a row in all competitions.
The Spanish League standings after the Barcelona and Villarreal match
With that result, Barcelona occupied third place in the Spanish League standings with 44 points, 10 points behind leaders Real Madrid.
On the other hand, after this exciting victory, Villarreal settled in 14th place with 23 points.
