Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha scored twice as Barcelona stormed to a 5-1 victory over Villarreal on Sunday to keep their perfect La Liga start intact.
The win marked Barçelona’s sixth consecutive league triumph, though it was overshadowed by a potentially serious knee injury to goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who was stretchered off.
Barcelona manager Hansi Flick hinted at the severity of the injury, stating, “It looks like a significant injury when he went down—you could see it immediately.”
Lewandowski opened the scoring and later doubled his tally, though he missed a penalty in a thrilling clash at Villarreal’s Estadio de la Cerámica. Ayoze Pérez pulled one back for the hosts before they had two goals disallowed. Pablo Torre and Raphinha sealed the win for Barçelona.
The victory restored Barcelona’s four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had thrashed Espanyol 4-1 a day earlier. “It’s very important to play away, score five goals, and leave with three points,” Lewandowski said. “In the end, it doesn’t matter how, as long as we win.”
Flick opted to give Eric García another start in defensive midfield despite his midweek red card against Monaco in the Champions League. He also handed starts to youth players Gerard Martin and Sergi Dominguez, while Torre filled in for the injured Dani Olmo.
Teen sensation Lamine Yamal hit the post early on before Lewandowski slotted home in the 20th minute from Torre’s assist. The Polish striker netted his second 15 minutes later with an acrobatic finish after his initial effort was saved.
Lewandowski’s two goals brought his La Liga tally to six this season, putting him two ahead of Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé in the race for the Golden Boot.
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