Lewandowski saves Barca after chasing the score 7 goals
Fans on the El Madrigal field on the evening of August 27 witnessed a dramatic score chase with too many emotions. Barca started like a dream with two goals in the first 15 minutes. Then, Villarreal scored three goals to lead 3-2 at the beginning of the second half. But then the away team scored two consecutive goals in three minutes, from 68 to 71, to complete the upstream display, and had a stronger victory if they took the opportunity.
In particular, 16-year-old midfielder Lamine Yamal is Barca's bright spot. In 76 minutes on the field, the Spaniard touched the ball 60 times, passed 90% of the time with a key pass, shot four times, successfully dribbled all three times and was fouled twice. He contributed an assist and hit the woodwork twice, winning the man of the match award.
The player born in 2007 left his mark in the 12th minute, when he hung the ball from the right for Gavi to head diagonally to open the scoring. With 16 years and 45 days, Yamal became the youngest player to assist in La Liga in the 21st century, surpassing teammate Ansu Fati (16 years 318 days) in the match against Valencia in September 2019.
Three minutes later, Alfonso Pedraza blocked Robert Lewandowski's dribble from inadvertently creating an assist for Frenkie De Jong to kick a diagonal touch below goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen. Barca scored twice in the first 15 minutes of an away game in La Liga for the first time since the match against Deportivo in October 2012.
After that, Villarreal scored three goals thanks to Juan Foyth, Alexander Sorloth and Alex Baena to lead 3-2 from 50 minutes. But the lax defense made it impossible for the host to keep the three points at El Madrigal.
In the 68th minute, Ferran Torres had two consecutive shots in the penalty area to equalize the score. With five goals, Torres is Barca's most scoring substitute in La Liga under Xavi, followed by Ansu Fati (4) and Luuk de Jong (3).
Three minutes later, the 16-year-old star Lamine Yamal continued to shine with the ball crossing the goal and then finishing the left foot to the corner near the column. The ball bounced off just right for Lewandowski to kick back into the empty net, scoring his first La Liga goal this season.
This match, Barca finished 21 times with 11 shots on target - the best number in an away game in all competitions under Xavi. The 4-3 result helped Barca rise to third with seven points, equal to Girona and only behind rival Real - the only team to win all three opening games. In the next round on September 3, Xavi's teachers and students continued to be Osasuna's guests.
