Villarreal achieved a significant victory over host Barcelona with a score of (5-3) on Saturday evening, during the 22nd round of La Liga. For Barcelona, goals were scored by Ilkay Gundogan, Pedri, and Eric Bailly (own goal) in the 60th, 68th, and 71st minutes, while Villarreal's goals came from Gerard Moreno, Elias Akhomach, Gonzalo Guedes, Sorloth, and Morales in the 41st, 54th, 84th, 90+9, and 90+12 minutes. With this loss, Barcelona's points remain at 44 in third place in La Liga, while Villarreal's tally rises to 23 points in fourteenth place.
The match began with pressure from the visitors, and Villarreal's Baena managed to score a goal in the 3rd minute, but the referee ruled it offside. Lamine Yamal attempted to shoot from outside the box, but goalkeeper Jørgensen saved it twice in the 8th minute. Moroccan player Elias Akhomach of Villarreal appealed for a penalty in the 12th minute after a strong intervention from Hector Bellerin, but the VAR did not call the referee to review it, and play continued. Joao Felix hit a powerful shot from inside the area, which touched defender Komesania before Jørgensen directed it for a corner in the 14th minute.
Gerard Moreno scored Villarreal's first goal in the 22nd minute, but the referee disallowed it for offside on teammate Sorloth. The game continued with little danger from either side before Gerard Moreno managed to score the yellow submarines' opening goal in the 41st minute, receiving a cross from the left from teammate Alexander Sorloth and, with one touch, directed it past goalkeeper Inaki Pena.
The first half ended with Villarreal leading by one goal to nil. At the beginning of the second half, Cancelo made a foolish mistake while clearing the ball, allowing Elias Akhomach to intercept it brilliantly, dribble past goalkeeper Inaki Pena, and put the ball in the net. Ilkay Gundogan successfully scored Barcelona's first goal in the 60th minute with a curling shot on the edge of the area that settled in the lower right corner of goalkeeper Jørgensen. The referee awarded an indirect free kick to Barcelona on the edge of the penalty area taken by Gundogan, but defender Eric Bailly accidentally scored an own goal in the 71st minute.
Goalkeeper Jørgensen made a remarkable save from a shot by Lamine Yamal in the 79th minute. Sorloth, a Villarreal striker, appealed for a penalty due to a strong challenge from Barcelona's Kounde against him inside the box, but the referee did not award anything. Gonzalo Guedes scored Villarreal's third goal in the 84th minute, receiving a diagonal pass from Sorloth, controlling it, and rifling a shot past goalkeeper Inaki Pena.
Barcelona players requested a penalty in the 91st minute for a handball by Komesania, a Villarreal defender, but upon reviewing VAR, the referee did not award anything and decided to continue play. Alexander Sorloth netted the decisive goal in the 90+9 minute, seizing upon a catastrophic mistake by Barcelona's defense and passing the ball into the area to slot it home. Jose Luis Morales compounded Barcelona's woes by scoring the fifth goal in the 90+12 minute, receiving a cross from teammate Guedes and shooting a low, creeping ball past goalkeeper Pena, allowing Villarreal to secure three valuable points from Barcelona.
