Raphinha turns Barcelona’s pressure into a decisive second half
Barcelona turned Aston Villa’s carelessness in possession into an early lead, then Raphinha’s second-half double carried them to a 3-0 win. The visitors had chances to make the contest closer, but could not turn their response into a goal.
Barcelona turned Aston Villa’s carelessness in possession into an early lead, then Raphinha’s second-half double carried them to a 3-0 win. The visitors had chances to make the contest closer, but could not turn their response into a goal.
Barcelona
- 1Hamza Abdelkarim
- 2Gavi
- 3Gabriel Jesus
- 4Wojciech Szczesny
- 5Guillem Víctor
- 6Karim Adeyemi
- 7Marc Bernal
- 8Álex Campos
- 9Frenkie de Jong
- 10Orian Goren
- 11Dominik Livakovic
- 12Alejandro Balde
Aston Villa
- 1Tammy Abraham
- 2Ibrahim Mbaye
- 3George Hemmings
- 4James Wright
- 5Taylor Harwood-Bellis
- 6Tyrone Mings
- 7Marco Bizot
- 8Alysson
- 9Leon Goretzka
- 10Ross Barkley
- 11Alejandro Garnacho
Lamine Yamal punished Villa in the seventh minute after a misplaced pass during their attempt to play out from the back. The goal did not immediately settle the contest. Villa responded with dangerous attacks of their own, but Joan García kept them out, while Pedri cleared a Matty Cash effort off the line. Barcelona reached half-time ahead, though their lead remained vulnerable.
The second goal changed the game. Fermín López found Raphinha after the restart, and the Brazilian's shot took a deflection before slipping beyond Zion Suzuki in the 52nd minute. Villa had less room to recover, and Barcelona made the most of it. João Cancelo beat John McGinn before delivering an outside-of-the-boot cross for Raphinha to finish from close range in the 64th minute.
Villa threatened briefly through Leon Goretzka, whose header struck the post, but the second-half balance had shifted decisively. Unai Emery's side had arrived with three consecutive Champions League wins and left with their first defeat in the league phase. Emery acknowledged the difference in quality, saying: “Three-nil maybe was more than we deserved.” Villa still have nine points, but this was a reminder of the decisions and precision required against Europe's strongest sides.
