Pedri’s first-half strike was enough to help Barcelona beat Villarreal 1-0 at the Estadio de la Ceramica on Sunday as they moved 11 points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the LaLiga standings.
The only goal of the game arrived in the 18th minute after a good passing sequence involving Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Pedri, who supplied the finishing touch past veteran goalkeeper Pepe Reina. Lewandowski and Raphinha missed chances to add a second for Barca, while Villarreal’s best chance was squandered by Jose Luis Morales just before the break.
The result marked Barcelona’s 16th clean sheet, the most in Europe’s top five leagues.
Rapid reaction
1. Unstoppable Barcelona extend LaLiga lead over Real Madrid
This was not Barca’s best performance of the season, but there was still plenty to like for coach Xavi Hernandez as his side opened up an 11-point lead at the top of the league. Real Madrid can cut the gap to eight if they win their game in hand against Elche on Wednesday, delayed due to their participation in the Club World Cup this week.
Pedri’s goal was enough to give Barca an eighth successive win in all competitions — their longest streak since October 2017 — but they could have already been ahead. They started the game full of intensity, pressing high and winning the ball back with great success. Lewandowski should have scored when one-on-one with Reina, but was denied. The Polish striker had another chance after Pedri’s goal but was again saved by Reina.
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Villarreal, led by ex-Barca coach Quique Setien, grew into the game, though. Morales’ chance was their best of the first half but they were on top for large spells of the second half, which Xavi will not have liked so much.
Still, Barca have conceded just seven league goals in 21 games for a reason this season, and center-backs Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen once again rose to the challenge.
2. Araujo key in Barca’s defensive record
The main reason Barca sit top of the league at this stage of the season is their remarkable improvement in defence. They conceded 38 goals last season, an average of one per game, but have leaked just 0.33 goals per match in the current campaign, keeping 16 clean sheets.
That can be attributed to the signings of Christensen and Jules Kounde along the back line and the form of goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, but Araujo is perhaps the standout performer in defence.
