Villarreal vs Barcelona 0-2: La Liga – as it happened

Barcelona head into the new year with a four-point lead at the top of La Liga thanks to Sunday’s 2-0 victory over Villarreal.

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After the winter break, Barcelona face Espanyol in an away La Liga fixture on January 3. Five days later, they face Athletic Club in the Supercopa de Espana semifinal.

As for Villarreal, they play away to Elche on their return, on January 3.

“We were hurting because it’s the first defeat at home. We were pleased with how we performed, apart from the penalty [conceded]. We had loads of really good chances; we could have been more than one goal up at half-time,” Parejo said.

“It feels like everything is going against us at the moment; teams are scoring against us with not much, but we are pleased with the image we have shown, how we played with 10 men against a great team. We showed great attitude.”

Asked if the winter break could help the team, he replied: “You never know if it’s good or not. If you win the first game after the break, people say ‘yeah, the break was good for them,’ but if you don’t, it’s not great. We will see, we need to rest a bit, forget a little bit about football and be with our families and kids. Then, come back with our batteries recharged because January will be important for us.

Talking about the referee’s decision to send off Veiga, he said: “It was a quick decision. I don’t know if that was a sending off or not. A yellow card could’ve been fine, and then maybe VAR could have helped decide if it was a red. But I think it’s just decisions that are taken quickly and live. The referee saw something, I saw something else … referees are human, sometimes they make mistakes.”

“We close off the year top of the table. That was our objective, and now we will rest for a bit,” Barcelona captain de Jong said.

Talking about Villarreal’s spirited performance in the first half, he added: “Villarreal are very quick on the counter; they’ve got talented players up front. We could’ve managed to be a bit better … We have to organise ourselves a bit better.

“But I felt out there on the pitch that we were superior. Not necessarily comfortable, but I think we deserved to win.”

Asked about their leading position at the winter break, the Dutchman said: “Yeah, we are doing well. But, you know, there are no trophies given out now. We are on the right path, we are in the cup [Copa del Rey], Champions League and Supercopa de Espana… We are fighting on all fronts.”

After 18 games, Barcelona have 46 points – four more than their rivals Real Madrid, who are second.

Atletico Madrid are third with 37 points, while Villarreal are fourth with 35 points, though they have two games in hand.

Barcelona will go into the new year four points clear at the top of the La Liga table, having registered their eighth straight league win tonight.

A first-half penalty from Raphinha and a second-half strike from Yamal guided them to a 2-0 victory over 10-man Villarreal.

Villarreal, who were down to 10 men following Veiga’s straight red card in the first half, slip one spot to fourth.

500 – Robert Lewandowski is making his 500th appearance in Europe's top five leagues, scoring 389 goals, a record surpassed by only two players in history: Lionel Messi (496) and Cristiano Ronaldo (495). Eternal. pic.twitter.com/6j5VQmlMYp

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) December 21, 2025

90+3 mins: Villarreal 0-2 Barcelona

Can the visitors find a third goal and wrap this up? The momentum is on their side.

90 mins: Villarreal 0-2 Barcelona

Cardona makes a near-goal-line save for Villarreal, denying Rashford a goal, following a quick exchange of passes between Rashford and de Jong.

89 mins: Villarreal 0-2 Barcelona

Raphinha whips the ball into the box from the right corner flag, but it lands comfortably in the hands of Villarreal goalkeeper Junior.

Only five minutes of regulation time remain.

85 mins: Villarreal 0-2 Barcelona

21 – Lamine Yamal has scored 21 goals in 87 LaLiga appearances – Only Kylian Mbappé (23) has scored more goals before turning 19 in Europe's top five leagues in the 21st century. Diamond. pic.twitter.com/hMtNRteR1s

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) December 21, 2025

81 mins: Villarreal 0-2 Barcelona

Casado replaces Kounde in defence, as we close in on the final 10 minutes of this fixture.

79 mins: Villarreal 0-2 Barcelona

Substitute Mikautadze makes a stunning run down the middle, dancing past defenders, and unleashes a low shot, but Garcia blocks at the near post.

77 mins: Villarreal 0-2 Barcelona

Macia replaces Parejo, who goes off to a huge round of applause from the Villarreal fans.

Also, Pepe makes way for Oluwaseyi.

Earlier, Perez was replaced with Mikautadze up top.

75 mins: Villarreal 0-2 Barcelona

Buchanan pulls the onrushing Rashford from behind and sends him to the floor. That earns the Villarreal defender a booking.

73 mins: Villarreal 0-2 Barcelona

Marin makes a timely run and stretches his foot, trying to tap in Parejo’s cross from the right side, but Barcelona goalkeeper Garcia dives to parry it away!

69 mins: Villarreal 0-2 Barcelona

Villarreal defender Cardona tries to slot home, but Joan Garcia makes a save at the near post.

Soon after, Cardona goes down in the box after tumbling over the Barca keeper, as Villarreal fans appeal for a penalty, but the referee isn’t keen.

68 mins: Villarreal 0-2 Barcelona

Bernal replaces Eric Garcia as Barcelona enjoy a two-goal lead, thanks to goals from Raphinha and Yamal.

As things stand, they would reopen a four-point lead at the top of the table.

66 mins: Villarreal 0-2 Barcelona

After a series of back-to-back misses in the box, Yamal strikes for the home side, latching onto de Jong’s pass and sending it through a defender’s legs into the back of the net.

63 mins: Villarreal 0-2 Barcelona