Barcelona suffered a surprising home defeat to Villarreal, despite spectacular goals from Lamine Yamal and Fermín López, as the newly crowned La Liga champions were beaten in a thrilling encounter.
Villarreal’s comeback win not only spoiled the celebrations at the Estadi Olímpic but also secured their spot in the top five and a place in next season’s Champions League.
Just days after clinching their 28th league title with a 2-0 victory over Espanyol and celebrating with over 650,000 fans in the streets of Barcelona, Hansi Flick’s side showed no signs of a hangover early on.
However, they were caught cold in the fourth minute when Ayoze Pérez, formerly of Newcastle and Leicester, turned in Nicolás Pépé’s cross to give the visitors the lead.
Barcelona responded with composure. Teen sensation Yamal scored his ninth league goal of the season with a signature move—cutting inside before curling a low left-footed strike into the far corner.
Moments later, after Yamal rattled the crossbar with a dazzling piece of individual skill, López gave the hosts the lead in first-half stoppage time.
He controlled a loose clearance on the edge of the area and smashed a half-volley past Villarreal keeper Luiz Júnior.
Despite dominating the first half, Barça conceded again five minutes after the restart. Santi Comesaña latched onto Yeremy Pino’s incisive through-ball and delicately lifted the ball over Marc-André ter Stegen to equalize.
With Champions League qualification in sight, Villarreal held firm under pressure.
Substitute Tajon Buchanan sealed the win at the far post, tapping in a low cross to complete the turnaround.
The match extended a remarkable trend between the two sides—26 goals have now been scored in their last four La Liga meetings (Barcelona 14, Villarreal 12), making it the highest-scoring fixture in the league since the start of last season.
Notably, Barcelona have now conceded first in 20 matches across all competitions this season, managing to win nine and draw two of those games—though this time, their comeback fell short.
