Barça dreht ein gegen Villarreal – und verliert

long-tailed keywords:
1. Barça vs Villarreal match result
2. Barça comeback against Villarreal.

FC Barcelona Stages Impressive Comeback Against Villarreal, Led by Ilkay Gündogan

In a thrilling match against Villarreal, FC Barcelona managed an impressive comeback, thanks to the outstanding performance of Ilkay Gündogan. However, the Spanish champions eventually fell apart and suffered a defeat.

A Promising Start Turns Into a Struggle

Neither team entered the Saturday evening game with much confidence, as both had struggled in recent weeks and were eliminated from the Copa del Rey. Villarreal quickly shrugged off their form problems and put pressure on the home team. Although Baena scored in the third minute from an offside position, it served as a warning to Barcelona.

Barcelona soon gained control of the game and started to dominate. Yamal created a promising chance for Gündogan (4 minutes), and a deflected long-range shot from Joao Felix posed a real threat, but Villarreal’s goalkeeper Jörgensen made a strong save (15 minutes). However, Barcelona soon lost their attacking edge, with Lewandowski struggling to make an impact.

Controversial Offside Decision Against Sörloth

Despite having only about 30% of possession, Villarreal proved to be much more dangerous in their attacks, mostly targeting Barcelona’s left defensive side, where the young Fort replaced the injured Balde. Gerard scored in the 22nd minute, but his goal was disallowed as the referee deemed Sörloth to be in an offside position. Barcelona got lucky.

Just before halftime, Villarreal took the lead with a third goal that beat ter-Stegen’s substitute, Pena. Sörloth set up Gerard after a throw-in, and he calmly slotted the ball into the near post from twelve meters out (41 minutes). Villarreal deservedly led 1-0 at halftime.

Gündogan Inspires Barcelona’s Comeback

Barcelona came out determined in the second half, with Xavi making three immediate substitutions. However, Villarreal enjoyed defending and remained stable. On the other hand, Cancelo’s mistake in the backline gave Akhomach an opportunity. The young forward from Barcelona’s youth academy dribbled past Pena and scored, apologizing to the Catalan fans who were having a tough evening (54 minutes).

Enter Ilkay Gündogan. As another setback loomed for Barcelona, the German national team captain took charge. With his dynamic play, he initiated a period of dominance and scored the first goal with a well-placed low shot in the 60th minute.

Shortly after, Gündogan lost control of the ball, but it fell to Pedri in the penalty area, who made no mistake and equalized the score to 2-2 (68 minutes). And just moments later, Bailly unfortunately headed Gündogan’s free-kick cross into his own net, completing a three-goal comeback in eleven minutes (71 minutes).

The momentum was now clearly in Barcelona’s favor, but Villarreal refused to back down. Barcelona had an opportunity to counter-attack but failed to capitalize. Instead, they were caught off-guard themselves when Guedes suddenly found himself in front of the goal and equalized to make it 3-3 (84 minutes). This marked the beginning of a wild finish to the match.

In the final minutes of added time, Barcelona missed a chance to take the lead as Koundé failed to score after Jörgensen’s mistake (90 minutes). Shortly after, an awarded penalty for Barcelona was overturned after a VAR intervention due to Santis’ elbow being in a natural position (90+2 minutes). And it got even worse for Barcelona as they conceded two more goals on counter-attacks in the last minutes of extended time. Villarreal secured a 5-3 victory with goals from Sörloth (90+9 minutes) and Morales (90+12 minutes).

Despite the heartbreaking loss, FC Barcelona can take solace in their spirited comeback led by Ilkay Gündogan. The team showed great determination and fighting spirit, even though the result did not go in their favor. It was a thrilling match that will be remembered for its twists and turns, showcasing the unpredictability of football.

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– Barça dreht ein gegen Villarreal und verliert
– Barça gegen Villarreal – und verliert.