La Liga 2016/17, Barcelona 4-1 Villarreal: 5 Talking Points

Barcelona ran riot against a poor Villarreal side to win 4-1 at Camp Nou and go top of the La Liga table. Neymar and Luis Suarez grabbed one goal each to complement Lionel Messi’s brace after Cedrick Bakambu levelled the game in the first half.

The Catalans are at the top of the table but Real Madrid still have that all-important game in hand. Here are five talking points from Barcelona’s dominant win over Villarreal.  

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#1 Neymar’s contributions have been vital

The game started as a back and forth cagey battle with both sides struggling to get any rhythm going. Rakitic and Suarez often attacked the same space and even lost the ball by running into each other on one instance.

Villarreal showed their goal threat on the counter after soaking up a lot of the initial Barcelona pressure. However, the Blaugrana opened the scoring when Lionel Messi’s miscued shot found its way to Neymar who just about beat the offside trap to toe poke it into the back of the net.

Villarreal’s tight defending until then was undone and Neymar would go on to have a good game, tantalising the away side’s back line. The Brazilian has scored just 16 goals this season but his strikes have been vital to his side.

The 25-year-old has scored important goals when his side needed them and his overall gameplay and assists have helped Barcelona’s attack this campaign as they look to win the league and salvage their season.