Barcelona restores four-point lead with win at Villarreal
Barcelona restored their four-point lead at the LaLiga summit with a 2-0 win over 10-man Villarreal.
An early Raphinha penalty and Lamine Yamal's second-half strike secured all three points for Hansi Flick's side at Estadio de la Ceramica.
The Blaugrana broke the deadlock after just 12 minutes, as Raphinha sent Luiz Junior the wrong way from 12 yards after he was fouled by Santi Comesana.
Raphinha hit the bar shortly afterwards, before Villarreal thought it had equalised when Jules Kounde put through his own net, only for the goal to be ruled out for an offside.
The host side was reduced to 10 men six minutes before the break, with Renato Veiga shown a straight red card for a two-footed challenge on Yamal.
Yamal doubled Barca's lead in the 63rd minute, sweeping home after Junior kept out substitute Robert Lewandowski's initial effort.
The visitor almost grabbed a third in stoppage time when Sergi Cardona cleared off the line to deny Marcus Rashford, but the two-goal advantage was enough to get Flick's side over the line.
