Villarreal vs Barcelona, La Liga: Match Thread, Live Updates

HALFTIME, Villarreal 2-2 Barcelona: A wild first half ends all square after 50-plus minutes of high-quality attacking football and pretty awful defending from both sides. Barça started poorly but improved as the half went on and had the lead for a while, but they need to be much better at the back if they want to all three points in the second half.

40’ GOAL, Villarreal 2-2 Barcelona (Sorloth): Villarreal equalize before halftime after a beautiful team move as Alfonso Pedraza finds Alexander Sorloth all alone at the far post for a tap-in.

26’ GOAL, Villarreal 1-2 Barcelona (Foyth): Villarreal are back in the game as a corner comes into the box and Juan Foyth heads it home off the post.

15’ GOAL!!! Villarreal 0-2 Barcelona (De Jong): IT’S TWO!!! Barça double the lead instantly as Robert Lewandowski is dispossessed inside the box but the ball falls perfectly to Frenkie de Jong who fires it home!

12’ GOAL!!! Villarreal 0-1 Barcelona (Gavi): BARÇA TAKE THE LEAD!!! Lamine Yamal puts in a perfect cross from the left wing and Gavi rises highest to head home the opener!

5’ GOAL DISALLOWED: Villarreal take the early lead through Sorloth, but the goal is ruled out for a very narrow offside and VAR confirms the call.

KICKOFF! Villarreal 0-0 Barcelona: And we’re underway in Villarreal!

WELCOME TO THE ESTADIO DE LA CERÁMICA!!! The beautiful, newly renovated home of Villarreal, forever known as El Madrigal in our hearts, is the site of a big La Liga match between the hosts and Barcelona, who come into this one looking to start a winning streak after their first victory of the campaign last week. But facing the Yellow Submarine away is never easy, and Quique Setien would love to get a big result against his former club. This should be fun, and you’re welcome to join us to follow and comment all the action. Vamos!

(Note: the comments will be open only when the team news come out, because our commenter people love commenting and sometimes there are too many comments in the comments section)

BARCELONA

Starting XI: Ter Stegen; Roberto, Kounde, Christensen, Alonso; Gündogan, Romeu, De Jong; Yamal, Lewandowski, Gavi (4-3-3)

Substitutes: Astralaga (GK), Kochen (GK), Eric, Cubarsí, Balde, Casadó, Fermín, Abde, Fati, Ferran

VILLARREAL

Starting XI: Jörgensen; Foyth, Gabbia, Cuenca, Pedraza; Terrats, Parejo, Capoue; Gerard, Sorloth, Baena (4-3-3)

Substitutes: Reina (GK), Albiol, Mandi, Alti, Femenía, Comesaña, Trigueros, Denis, Akhomach, Pino, Morales, Brereton

Competition/Round: 2023-24 La Liga, Matchday 3

Date/Time: Sunday, August 27, 2023, 5.30pm CET (Barcelona), 4.30pm BST/WAT (UK & Nigeria), 11.30am ET, 8.30am PT (USA), 9pm IST (India)

Venue: Estadio de la Cerámica, Villarreal, Spain

Referee: Alejandro José Hernández Hernández

VAR: Valentín Pizarro Gómez

On TV: ESPN Deportes (USA), TSN 3 (Canada), SuperSport (Nigeria), Sports18 (India), Viaplay Sports 1 (UK), M+ LALIGA TV (Spain), others

Online: ESPN+ (USA), LaLigaTV (UK), Movistar+ (Spain), others

We don’t have a lot of rules here, but there are a few things to keep in mind when joining our matchday threads:

Even if the referee sucks or we lose the game, watch the swearing. It’s just unnecessary. Also, don’t discuss illegal streaming links. Those who do it will be warned, and those who post links will be instantly banned. Finally, be nice to each other. This is a Barcelona community and we don’t need to offend one another.

Have fun with the game! Forever and ever, no matter the competition, VISCA EL BARÇA!