On Tuesday evening, the first three matches of the sixth round of the Spanish "La Liga" championship were played.
After a weekend of setbacks, Barcelona tried to bounce back at the Camp Nou stadium. Ernesto Valverde's team returned to the path of victory by beating Villarreal 2-1.
The Catalans started the first half strongly with Lionel Messi at the helm - Antoine Griezmann scored in the 6th minute after a corner kick from the Argentine.
The hosts didn't need much time to increase their lead - in the 15th minute, Arthur scored a true "bullet" from about 25 meters leaving Sergio Asenjo no chance.
However, at the end of the first half, Villarreal managed to get back into the game when Santi Cazorla scored an even more impressive long-range shot.
The first half ended with Barcelona practically a man down, as Lionel Messi struggled to run around due to an injury. After the break, the Argentine did not return to the field - he was replaced by Ousmane Dembele.
In the second half, Villarreal tried to turn the tide, but their efforts were not enough - Barcelona did not concede any more goals and achieved a difficult, but very important victory.
They at least temporarily rose to fourth place and reduced the gap from the leaders to one point. Villarreal is in eighth place.
Other matches ended with victories for Real Betis against Levante and a draw between Real Valladolid and Granada.
Results:
Barcelona 2 - 1 Villarreal
6' [1 - 0] A. Griezmann
15' [2 - 0] Arthur
44' [2 - 1] S. Cazorla
Real Betis 3 - 1 Levante
7' [0 - 1] Hernani
45+3' [1 - 1] Loren
48' [2 - 1] Loren
67' [3 - 1] B. Iglesias
Real Valladolid 1 - 1 Granada
12' [1 - 0] O. Plano
42' [1 - 1] C. Fernandez
Tournament standings:
