Villarreal fought toe-to-toe against the reigning champions, especially in the first half, as the fans witnessed an end-to-end contest right from the start. However, the hosts conceded an unnecessary foul inside their box early in the match after Raphinha was brought down with a poor challenge by Santi Comesana. The Brazil international took the resulting and spot-kick and handed his team the lead with a clinical finish in the 12th minute.
Only five minutes after conceding the goal, Villarreal equalised through a Jules Kounde own goal as the French defender accidentally put the ball into his own net while trying to intercept a low cross from Sergi Cardona. However, the linesman called off the goal as Cardona was in an offside position when he received the through ball on the left flank.
Thereafter, Villarreal got multiple opportunities to restore parity but were unsuccessful in their attempts. In the 39th minute, the Yellow Submarine were dealt a major blow as they were reduced to 10 men following Veiga's unnecessary red card. The former Chelsea defender caught Yamal at the back of his foot with a very poor challenge and the referee did not hesitate in pulling out the red card and giving him his marching orders.
Hansi Flick made a few tactical changes in the second half to add more sting to Barcelona's attack as he brought in Marcus Rashford and Robert Lewandowski. Just past the hour-mark, Yamal finally opened his account in the match after doubling his side's lead with a powerful shot from inside the box.
Flick's decision to introduce Rashford and Lewandowski in the attack added the much-needed spark as the Catalan giants looked more dangerous post the hour-mark, although they did not further extend their lead.
