(Football news) After two very tough results against Inter Milan and Real Madrid, Barcelona bounced back with a 3-0 win over Villarreal. Xavi made a bold call by Marcos Alonso at centre back ahead of Eric Garcia and Gerard Pique. Raphinha and Ousmane Dembele were benched after a poor performance at the Bernabéu. Ferran Torres and Ansu Fati played on the wings with Robert Lewandowski in the centre. Captain Sergio Busquets was also benched as Xavi went for youth energy with Pedri, Gavi and Frenkie De Jong. Jordi Alba was preferred over Alex Balde at left back while Sergi Roberto kept his place at right back. 

Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring in the 30th minute from a tight situation after Jordi Alba's cross. Four minutes later the Polish striker scored from an incredible long shot to double the host's lead. Ansu Fati added a third after chaos in Villarreal's box in the 38th minute. In the 2nd half Barcelona were calm and composed as they saw the game off with a 3 goal lead. Raphinha and Dembele did come on in the 2nd half as did veterans Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets. Hector Bellerin returned from his injury to play 30 valuable minutes. The full is likely to play a very crucial role in the coming days. Barcelona were brilliant as they dominated 70% possession but Villarreal were extremely toothless in possession. 

Xavi said after the game that his boys had to react after the disappointment in Madrid. The reaction was good but the way Madrid is playing, Barcelona have to keep up with them. They are likely to be hit with a Europa League relegation next week but domestically they need to be strong. Barcelona's next game is against Athletic Club at home. Villarreal were never expected to win at the Camp Nou but the manner in which they lost is a little concerning. Their next game is at home against newly promoted Almeria which is the perfect game to try and bounce back.

Also read: Real Madrid get dominant victory over Elche to keep the momentum going