Barcelona 4-1 Villarreal: Yamal first hat-trick wins 3 points for Flick's side

Lamine Yamal scored a sensational hat-trick as Hansi Flick marked his 100th game in charge of Barcelona with a 4-1 win over Villarreal at Camp Nou. 

Match Report

Yamal's treble, along with substitute Robert Lewandowski's late goal, also moved Barcelona four points clear at the top of LaLiga, with Real Madrid facing Getafe on Monday. 

A quiet opening 20 minutes burst into life when Yamal cut inside and forced Luiz Junior into a save, though the visiting goalkeeper was picking the ball out of the net shortly after. 

Fermin Lopez's defence-splitting pass sent Yamal through on goal, with the talented teenager taking one touch before picking out the bottom-left corner with a well-taken finish. 

Yamal then doubled his and Barcelona's tally eight minutes before the break in sensational style, turning Sergi Cardona inside out and riding Alberto Moleiro's flimsy challenge before sending a delicious, bending shot into the top corner. 

But for all of Yamal's brilliance and Barcelona's dominance, Villarreal halved the deficit in the 49th minute through Pape Gueye, who beat Joan Garcia from close range after the hosts failed to deal with a teasing Nicolas Pepe corner. 

However, Flick's side restored their two-goal cushion with 69 minutes on the clock as Yamal completed his hat-trick with another composed strike after being played in by Pedri, who had been substituted on to the field just 10 minutes earlier. 

And the win was sealed in the first minute of second-half stoppage time when Jules Kounde crossed for Lewandowski to tuck home from inside the six-yard box, with the goal eventually given after a VAR review for offside. 

Data Debrief: Yamal sends more records tumbling on Flick's milestone outing

Coming into the game, Yamal had failed to fire in his last two LaLiga outings, but he delivered a sensational display of attacking intent here to continue his meteoric rise. 

Indeed, at 18 years and 230 days old, Yamal became the youngest player to score their first LaLiga hat-trick, surpassing Gio dos Santos' previous record, with his treble coming against Murcia in May 2008 at the age of 19 years and six days old. 

Yamal now also has 27 goals in 95 matches in the Spanish top flight, becoming the first player to reach 25 goals before turning 19 in Europe's top five leagues in the 21st century.

Barcelona were worthy of their win, having registered an expected goals (xG) total of 2.96 from their 19 shots to Villarreal's 1.29 from their six attempts as Flick claimed his 75th victory in his century of outings for the club in all competitions (D9 L16). Only Luis Enrique has managed more wins (80) after his first 100 games in charge of the Blaugrana. 

Match Events

0' The match is about to start!

4' The referee indicated no handball

14' Big chance for Kounde but he drags it wide!

23' Highlight from Barcelona vs Villarreal

28' A precise effort into the bottom left corner! Barcelona 1-0 Villarreal (Yamal)

33' Ayoze Perez has space to move into behind the defence, but he goes too soon

37' An amazing individual effort from Lamine Yamal! Barcelona 2-0 Villarreal

40' Match Event for Barcelona vs Villarreal

43' Raphinha fires the resulting free kick to the right side

44' Jules Kounde puts the ball into the net, but he is flagged for offside

46' Yama unleashes a shot towards goal

48' Chance for Olmo on the cutback from Kounde but it’s saved

49' GOAL! Barcelona 2-1 Villarreal (Pape Gueye)

56' Yellow Card! Raphinha booked

57' Perez shots wide out

61' Chance for Yamal,wide out

62' Ferran is denied by the keeper

69' Yamal has his first hat-trick!! Barcelona 3-1 Villarreal

73' Lamine Yamal receives a standing ovation after his hat-trick!

91' Lewandowski has the ball in the back of the net! Barcelona 4-1 Villarreal

Line-ups

Barcelona XI: Olmo, Ferran Torres, Raphinha, Kounde, Eric Garcia, Joan García, Balde, Fermín López, Yamal, Cubarsi, Bernal

Subs: Szczesny, Lewandowski, Cancelo, Rashford, Araujo, Pedri, Casado, Roony Bardghji, Eder Aller, Tommy Marqués

Villarreal XI: Ayoze Perez, Pepe, Santi Comesaña, Pape Gueye, Sergi Cardona, Georges Mikautadze, Alberto Moleiro, Luiz Júnior, Renato Veiga, Pau Navarro, Santiago Mouriño

Subs: Parejo, Partey, Pedraza, Alfon González, Arnau Tenas, Buchanan, Rafa Marín, Alex Freeman, Tani Oluwaseyi