Barcelona’s famed front three all on target as win over Villarreal keep pressure on Real Madrid

Andy Mitten reports from the Camp Nou where Barcelona beat Villarreal to keep their Primera Liga hopes alive.

All three of Barcelona's front three – Neymar, left, Lionel Messi, centre, and Luis Suarez – scored in the win over Villarreal. Lluis Gene / AFP

Barcelona 4 Villarreal 1

Barcelona: Neymar (21'), Messi (45', 82'), Suarez (69')

Villarreal: Bakambu (32')

Barcelona kept up pressure on Real Madrid at the top of the Primera Liga with a 4-1 home win over a fifth place Villarreal, who have now gone 17 games without beating the Catalans.

Lionel Messi was again the chief architect, scoring twice and setting up another.

Neymar gave his side the lead after 20 minutes with his 10th league goal of the season, poking the ball in after Luis Suarez had set up Messi to shoot.

Villarreal’s players protested that the Brazilian was offside, but the 100th goal this season from one of Barca’s celebrated front three stood, the third season in succession where they’ve reached a century. Messi has 50 of them, Suarez 35 and Neymar 16.

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They all scored against Villarreal, a club with an atrocious record against Barca in the last decade, but Villareal do currently have the second best defence in Spain and were level after 32 minutes thanks to a breakaway when Cedric Bakambu ran onto a beautiful pass from Roberto Soldado within his own half which split Barca’s high defensive line.

Bakambu had seen the pass and was already running to beat Gerard Pique before shooting low into the Andre Ter Stegen’s goal. It was the Congolese striker’s seventh goal in six games.

The goal didn’t silence the huge crowd, most of them sitting in the sun. They had to wait a mere 13 minutes for their side to take the lead again when Messi ran across the Villarreal box, leaving Rodrigo on the floor, then, with six defenders in front of him, shooting low across the goal.

Though deflected, it was still a wonderful goal, still typical of Messi’s will to win. The Argentine had reason to impress — his two young sons were present and on the pitch with their dad before the game.

Suarez made it 3-1 in the 69th minute, running onto a Sergi Roberto pass, turning inside two defenders and slotting the ball past Andres Fernandez.

The three combined for an 85th minute penalty, given for handball from a Suarez shot after some outrageous Neymar skill. Messi chipped it slowly and nonchalantly into the centre of Fernandez’s goal, his ninth penalty from nine taken this season. He’s now scored two goals in each of his last six home league games.

Villarreal, who held Barca at home in the league, have been in the top six all season. With the Basques of Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad right behind them, they need to be careful.

Barca have only have two games remaining; Las Palmas and home to Eibar. They need Madrid to slip up in one of their matches against Sevilla at home and Malaga and Celta Vigo away.

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