A very relieved Barcelona overcome a tough Villareal side to eke out
a slim 2-1 victory. Barcelona started
the game again without Lionel Messi, Danny Alves and Adriano Correa. Without their superstar, Gerardo Martino
fielded Cesc Fabregas in his stead with Alexis Sanchez and Neymar Da Silva as
wingmen.
Both teams find little chances in the early goings. But Barcelona
was poised to take the lead but Alex Song's shot hit the near post denying the
host the opening goal. The break came in
the 28th minute when Jordi Alba's cross hit the hands of Mario in
the penalty box. That set up the first Neymar goal to give Barcelona the lead
before the break.
In the 48th minute, Villareal evened up after Mateo
Mussachio beat Marc Bartra to squeeze a bullet header from a Mario Trigueros
corner kick. Barcelona tried to shake off the shock with that score but finds
Villareal defense impenetrable.
Things went differently when Xavi replaced Alex Song in the middle
of the second half. Just as Barca seems
headed to another draw and split points with its visitors, Cesc Fabregas curled
a cross near the back post which was chested by Alexis Sanchez who set up for a
fine Neymar tap in to the relief of the anxious crowd. Barcelona protected the
lead until the final whistle for that important three points.
Had Barcelona settled for a draw it could have given up the overall
lead in the league as it is already tied up with Atletico Madrid. It could have also ring alarm bells already
as Barcelona has been suffering two straight losses. In the last round, it lost
to Athletic Bilbao. Previous to that, it lost its second round outing with the Dutch side Ajax
in the Champion's League.
