Barcelona are losing against Villarreal and say goodbye to La Liga

Barcelona have a difficult mission this Saturday. They know that Real Madrid already beat Las Palmas with another goal near the end whistle and that they became the new leaders of the standings overtaking Girona. Now Los Blaugranas are 10 points off the top and have no alternative but to beat Villarreal this Saturday if they want to keep their chances of competing for the title.

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The good news for them is that they face a team that have not shown good performances this season. El Submarino Amarillo are far from their glorious times of previous years and are now closer to the relegation zone than to the qualification zone for international tournaments. That is why Barcelona have the obligation to prove that they are better than their rivals.

But so far that is not happening. During the first half at the Estadio Olimpico Lluis Companys in Montjuic, Los Blaugranas have shown a disappointing performance, similar to what they did in their last matches in the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup. The difference in quality and budget between one team and the other was not noticeable and, in fact, it was the visitors who made the difference.

Gerard Moreno had scored the opener early in the match, but the referee ruled out the goal for a controversial foul against Jules Koundé. However, the Spanish striker had the chance to take revenge and in the 41st minute he put his team on the scoreboard: he received a drilled cross from the left and with a strong shot netted the 1-0.

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They are in trouble

If they lose vs Villarreal this Saturday, Barcelona will be 10 points behind leaders Real Madrid. And that distance to the top of the standings can be even bigger (12) if Girona beat Celta in Vigo on Sunday. That is why Xavi Hernandez must make his players react before it is too late. On the bench are Diego Kochen, Ander Astralaga, Joao Cancelo, Pau Cubarsi, Pedri, Marc Casado, Fermin Lopez, Ferran Torres, Marc Guiu and Vitor Roque.