Jules Kounde was a central figure in the opening exchanges, though he experienced mixed fortunes, as he diverted a potentially dangerous cross from Sergi Cardona behind, before missing horrendously when put through on goal by Fermin Lopez.
It was down to a man nearly a decade younger than the French international, Lamine Yamal, to show him how it’s done, as Pape Gueye’s giveaway to Fermin while under pressure allowed the latter to slice through the defence with a lethal pass to Lamine, who fired into the bottom-left corner.
If the teenage sensation’s first goal was a lesson in how to finish, his second was a masterclass in how to beat two men at a narrow angle and thunder a finish into the top-left corner.
Shortly after Ayoze Perez was caught narrowly offside in a promising move, the Blaugrana surged forward, and another killer Fermin ball found Lamine, who dribbled past his two hapless markers and bagged his first brace since September 2024 – and his first at home in exactly two years.
More joy nearly followed two minutes from half-time, when Raphinha saw a promising free-kick kept out at full stretch by Luiz Junior.
It always felt like something monumental would be required from Villarreal to change the complexion of this game after half-time, especially with Yamal’s second of the day being Barcelona’s 16th LaLiga home goal without response as it stood.
Yet, the Yellow Submarine reignited the contest just three minutes into the second half, when several Barcelona players failed to clear their lines at the end of a Nicolas Pepe corner, and the ball fell kindly to Gueye, who swept in to atone for his earlier error.
That set the nerves jangling as the clock creeped towards the hour mark, and Perez somehow managed to miss an open goal when Pau Navarro’s robust tackle on Yamal sparked a Villarreal counter that had Joan Garcia charging out of his goalmouth.
But with a renewed willingness to attack always comes the risk of being caught out, and Lamine finally had that elusive match ball with 20 minutes to play.
Much like he did earlier, the teenage star fired into the opposite corner beautifully from a narrow angle, after being granted excess space to dart into the box at the end of an opportunistic Pedri pass.
With the damage long done and Villarreal’s most promising period firmly stubbed out by Lamine's third, those inside the Nou Camp saw a relatively sedate conclusion.
Barcelona still had time for a fourth goal though, with Robert Lewandowski tapping on the end of a squared ball inside the box from Kounde.
It’s now all eyes on Monday’s action at the Bernabeu as Real Madrid host Getafe, while Villarreal – despite failing to become the first team since Real Madrid in the 1960s to win three consecutive away games against Barcelona – remain nine points clear inside the top four for now.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)
