Barcelona thrash Villarreal thanks to a hat-trick from Lamine Yamal

Y ellow Submarine is track number 13 on a 2025-26 playlist that sounds great on Spotify Camp Nou. Flick's team has an immaculate record at home, and the match against Villarreal was no exception. The Azulgranas reaffirmed their leadership by overcoming one of the most difficult obstacles remaining in this La Liga season. It should be remembered that the Yellows had won on their last two visits to Barça, but with Lamine at this level, there is little that can be done to hurt the Azulgranas. He made his first.

It should be noted that, as a spectator, it is a pleasure to watch a match at Camp Nou when the opposition does not blatantly sit back. This leads to open, back-and-forth encounters where football decides the outcome. In the first 20 minutes, there were no clear chances, but no one could say that the match was disappointing. Barça did not miss De Jong and Pedri, who was on the bench, and Villarreal's fast, first-touch play gave them advantages that were difficult to create against Barça.

The match was a constant back-and-forth, with Lamine showing great enthusiasm and Gueye providing the necessary pause to find the best possible pass for the yellow team's attacks. These two players were the protagonists in the 1-0 play. The African Cup of Nations winner with Senegal was overconfident when looking for a teammate and lost the ball, which led to a quick counterattack by Fermín with a pass to Lamine and a perfect finish past Luiz Júnior.

Mistakes are costly, and Villarreal paid the price. Apart from the goal, Lamine was the standout player of the match, and he confirmed his outstanding performance ten minutes later by scoring another goal that very few players could have achieved. His brace came after he left Cardona and Moleiro behind in the box and fired a left-footed shot into the top corner of Luiz Junior's goal. What great news to see at the end of the season and with the World Cup in mind, which we will see if it is played given what we have seen in the last few hours.

Villarreal did not seem to start the second half well, as Luiz Júnior saved Dani Olmo's point-blank shot to keep the score at 3-0 after just three minutes. But in soccer, nothing is written in stone, because a minute later Marcelino's men narrowed the gap after a corner kick that Mouriño touched to Gueye, who beat Joan García from close range. The Senegalese player took revenge for his mistake in the 1-0. The goal turned the game around. The silence in the stands spread to Barça, who felt the pressure.

Pau Navarro took the ball away from Lamine, who went down after contact from the defender, and Villarreal launched a counterattack that ended with Ayoze shooting at an empty goal, but the ball went wide. Nerves were on edge as Barça claimed that Villarreal should have kicked the ball out before Ayoze's shot, and the mess was resolved with yellow cards for both coaches and a frustrated Raphinha who couldn't get anything going.

His first hat trick

The Brazilian's luck changed a few minutes later when he played a sensational pass to Ferran, who was unable to beat Luiz Júnior. Barça were improving, but Villarreal were still very much alive... until the Pedri-Lamine duo sealed the game. A great pass from the Canary Islander and an equally impressive finish from Lamine to score his first hat-trick as a professional. The game was not over with this goal, as Lewandowski sealed the victory in added time. Flick rested players ahead of Tuesday's Champions League match.