Barcelona have bounced back from their Clasico loss in style as they cruised to a 3-0 home LaLiga win over Villarreal with a brace from Robert Lewandowski.
Barcelona remained second in the standings on 25 points, three behind Real Madrid and three clear of third-placed Real Sociedad.
Barcelona scored three times in seven first-half minutes starting with Lewandowski’s strike from inside the area in the 31st.
The Polish striker increased the lead four minutes later with a precise curling shot from the edge of the box to finish off a counter-attack after Pedri stole the ball from an opponent close to the centre circle.
Ansu Fati scored Barca’s third three minutes later, placing a close-range shot into the empty net from a low cross by Ferran Torres.
With the points secured, Barca took their foot off the gas after the break but comfortably held on to their lead.
“After the bad results against Inter and Madrid we needed a victory,” Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong said.
“Winning always helps to boost the team’s morale in the locker room.”
Villarreal dropped to ninth place. Unai Emery’s team had beaten Osasuna in the previous round to end a four-game winless streak in the league.
The three goals Villarreal conceded matched the number of goals they had allowed in all other league games so far. They came to the Camp Nou with the league’s best defence.
“Nothing worked for us from the start,” Villarreal midfielder Manu Trigueros said.
There was a moment of silence before the match because of the death of Villarreal vice-president Jose Manuel Llaneza, considered the architect of Villarreal’s project that led the club to their recent glories.
In other matches on Thursday, Osasuna beat Espanyol 1-0 while Almeria defeated Girona 3-2.
