Barcelona didn’t seem disheartened by their elimination from the Champions League last Wednesday, having a great performance on Saturday over Villarreal and maintaining their lead over Real Madrid as the team seeks the La Liga title. Barcelona crushed Villarreal 4-1, with two goals from Leo Messi.

Barça showed their best soccer, enabling them to achieve a win in Villarreal. And with a great first half, Barça made the direction of the game clear almost from the beginning.

The local team, which came to this match at its height this season, looking for a place in the next edition of the Champions League, gave a poor performance in the first half, regaining its intensity only after the break; nevertheless, it was not enough to stop Barcelona.

Both teams knew what was at the stake, but Barcelona was more determined than Villarreal; the Barça players offered great level of soccer to achieve a fundamental and decisive victory in the fight for the title.

The game began with good pace for both teams, but Barcelona was in control of the ball and was attacking Villarreal’s area constantly; the local team was trying to do the same but only through counterattacks. The first chance of the match was wasted by the Brazilian Nilmar, who sent out a good shot during one of Villarreal’s counterattacks.

Gradually, however, Barcelona began to gain their usual rhythm, controlling the center of the field and forcing their rivals to adjust to their pace. The result was the first goal of the game, scored by Lionel Messi after a good play from Bojan Krkic and Xavi Hernandez. Messi kicked a shot that grazed the defense and slipped into Diego Lopez’s goal at minute 18.

After this goal, Villarreal lost their focus while Barcelona’s grew. Villareal’s approaches to Victor Valdes’ net dropped while the Catalans increased their control of the game dramatically. There were times when the home team was at the mercy of its rival, and shortly thereafter, at minute 34, Xavi Hernandez appeared to score Barcelona’s second goal.

Barcelona kept finding space to approach the Villarreal’s net. Seven minutes later Bojan, in a single action that overcame the Argentine Gonzalo Rodriguez, scored to bring the score to 3-0 for the Barça team. With this crushing score, the first half came to an end.

In the second half, Marcos Senna and Joseba Llorente came to the pitch instead of Ariel Ibagaza and Cani, a switch that gave the home team more possession of the ball and more minutes near Barcelona’s goal.

With Senna creating the game for Villarreal and Llorente in the attack, the home side improved, and together with the Barcelona, which didn’t press their advantage with the same intensity, created a match more balanced than in the first half.

Despite the improvement in their game, Villarreal did not seem to be able to close the score. It wasn’t until minute 68th, when, in a clear opening, Llorente gave life to the game by scoring for Villarreal.

However, Barcelona kept control of the action and at minute 88, Messi appeared again and score a superb goal after a pass from Dani Alves. With this goal, the game ended in favor of Barcelona, 4-1.

With this victory, Barcelona maintains their lead in the La Liga standings with 90 points, followed by Real Madrid with 89 points. Real Madrid also won this weekend after beating Osasuna 2-1.

There are only three more games left in the season and the battle for the title is more intense than ever as Barcelona and Real Madrid have only a one-point difference. Both teams know that a defeat could leave them empty-handed, so their next games will be very exciting. Barcelona will next face Tenerife on May 4th while Real Madrid will play Mallorca on May 5th.

About the Author

Ally White has been a prominent writer on daily Spanish League Soccer; sports news and the sportsbetting industry for many exceptional sport web sites. You may reprint this article in its full content, please note no modifications to it are accepted.