Barcelona maintain unbeaten run under Xavi: Records broken
Xavi Hernandez continued his unbeaten start as Barcelona manager as his side overcame Villarreal 3-1 in La Liga. The visitors struck twice late on to earn an impressive victory against a spirited Villarreal outfit. Frenkie De Jong opened the scoring for Barca before Samuel Chukwueze leveled the show in the 76th minute. Late goals from Memphis Depay and Phlippe Coutinho helped Barca win.
Why does it matter?
Since Xavi has joined Barca as manager, the performances have stepped up. The Spaniard will look at this result and be proud of his side. They show a lot of character and spirit to turn things around. This was the second successive league win for Barca under Xavi as they also drew a match in the Champions League.
How did the match pan out?
De Jong's close-range finish opened the scoring in the second half. Villarreal showed strength to level the show as Barca were clinging on. Former Lyon ace Memphis pounced after the Villarreal defence failed to clear a long clearance in the 88th minute. Substitute Coutinho slotted an injury-time penalty to hand Barca the points.
Feats achieved by Memphis and De Jong
Memphis has scored in his last four La Liga appearances (four goals in total). As per Opta, this is his longest scoring run in league competition since March-April 2018, six games for Lyon (seven goals). Meanwhile, De Jong has scored his first league goal since January 2021 against Elche, ending his longest run without scoring in the competition with Barca (28 successive matches).
Xavi makes an impact
As per Opta, Barca have won a La Liga away game for the first time this season (G6 W1 D3 L2). This is also the first time they've won back-to-back games in the competitions in 2021-22.
