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Villarreal v Barcelona: Raphinha goal puts Barca in front with penalty in LaLiga

Raphinha scored in Villarreal v Barcelona

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Villarreal v Barcelona: Raphinha goal puts Barca in front with penalty in LaLiga

Raphinha won and converted a penalty on his return to Barcelona’s starting line-up to put the reigning champions ahead at Villarreal and on course to move four points clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga on Sunday.

Brazil forward Raphinha struck in the 12th minute after being fouled inside the box by Santi Comesana, whose team almost fell 2-0 behind when the opening scorer struck the woodwork with an exquisite shot from distance.

Third-placed Villarreal thought they had equalised shortly afterwards when Jules Kounde diverted a cross into the Barca defender’s own net, only for Sergi Cardona to be ruled offside.

Villarreal vs Barcelona: Hosts push for goal

Despite conceding, Villarreal showed why they have won their last six league matches as part of an impressive start to the Yellow Submarine’s season.

Tajon Buchanan later went close to levelling, meeting Cardona’s left-wing cross to the far post with a fierce volley across goal that flashed narrowly wide.

You can follow live text updates and stats from the match here.

Villarreal team vs Barcelona

Centre-back Rafa Marin, left-back Cardona, midfielder Santi Comesana, winger Alberto Moleiro and forward Ayoze Perez kept their places from Villarreal’s 2-1 Copa del Rey defeat at second-tier Racing on Wednesday.

Head coach Marcelino was dealing with a lengthy injury list, with Willy Kambwala, Logan Costa, Pau Cabanes, Ramon Terrats, Gerard Moreno and several others unavailable. Pape Gueye and Ilias Akhomach are at the 202 Africa Cup of Nations.

Villarreal starting XI: Luiz Junior, Pau Navarro, Rafa Marin, Renato Veiga, Sergi Cardona, Tajon Buchanan, Santi Comesana, Dani Parejo, Alberto Moleiro, Nicolas Pepe, Ayoze Perez

Villarreal substitutes: Arnau Tenas, Adria Alti, Manor Solomon, Gerard Moreno, Georges Mikautadze, Tani Oluwaseyi, Jean Valou, Carlos Macia, Alassane Diatta

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick

Barcelona team vs Villarreal

Barcelona made six changes from their 2-0 win at Guadalajara in the Copa del Rey on Tuesday, bringing in goalkeeper Joan Garcia, defenders Jules Kounde, Pau Cubarsi, Gerard Martin and Alejandro Balde alongside forwards Raphinha and Ferran Torres.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Marc Casado, Andreas Christensen, Jofre Torrents, Roony Bardghji, Marc Bernal and Marcus Rashford made way.

Pedri was out with a calf issue. Midfielders Gavi and Dani Olmo and defender Ronald Araujo were also injured.

Barcelona starting XI: Joan Garcia, Kounde, Cubarsi, Gerard Martin, Balde, Eric Garcia, Frenkie de Jong, Fermín Lopez, Raphinha, Ferran Torres, Lamine Yamal

Barca substitutes: Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Robert Lewandowski, Marcus Rashford, Marc Casado, Marc Bernal, Wojciech Szczesny, Dro Fernandez, Roony Bardghji, Tomas Marques

How to watch Villarreal vs Barcelona: Live stream, TV channel

Kick-off on Sunday was at 15:15 GMT (10:15 ET / 07:15 PT), with live coverage in the UK on Premier Sports 1 and streaming available on a vast range of devices via the Premier Sports app.

A Premier Sports subscription costs £120 a year, £11.99 per month on a 12-month contract or £16.99 per month with 30 days’ cancellation notice required.

Villarreal vs Barcelona stats

  • Villarreal have won six consecutive La Liga matches
  • They have lost their last two games away to second-tier Racing in the Copa del Rey and at home to Copenhagen in the Champions League
  • Marcelino’s team have conceded three fewer goals than any other side in this season’s Liga (13)
  • Two of their last three league meetings with Barca have ended victoriously, but they have not won the fixture at home since October 2007
  • Barcelona have won seven straight league games
  • They have scored 49 goals in 17 league matches in 2025/26

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