Barcelona slip away 11 points clear at the top of La Liga

VILLARREAL, Spain, Feb 12 (Reuters) – A first-half goal from Pedri gave Barcelona a 1-0 victory over Villarreal at the Estadio de la Cerámica on Sunday to extend their lead over Real Madrid at the top of the Liga to 11 points and keep him on the road to a first league title since 2019.

Robert Lewandowski launched an early chance which went to goalkeeper Pepe Reina but had better luck with a later pass which allowed Pedri to score in the 18th minute.

Lewandowski came close to scoring a second goal eight minutes later after another flowing Barca attack, but Reina deftly deflected the Pole’s left-footed shot from inside the box.

Referee Alejandro Hernández Hernández handed out eight yellow cards, four to each side, in the 90 minutes, and Villareal lost midfielder Francis Coquelin in the 35th minute to what looked like a nasty knee injury.

Although the hosts had more ball, it was the visitors who created the better chances, with Lewandowski and Raphinha close to increasing the lead.

On the rare occasions when Villareal did manage to get close to the opposing goal, centre-back Ronald Araújo was in great form and came to his side’s rescue on several occasions with timely clearances and tackles in the second half. .

Lewandowski had one last chance to beat Reina, but the goalkeeper shone again with another superb save, which wasn’t enough to prevent Barcelona from taking all three points.

With the win, Barca lead the standings with 56 points after 21 games, while Villareal are eighth with 31 points, seven behind fourth in the Champions League, currently held by Atlético de Madrid.

(Report by Philip O’Connor, edited in Spanish by Tomás Cobos)