La Liga 2023-24, Villarreal hammer Barcelona 5-3: Key stats
Villarreal defeated Barcelona 5-3 on matchday 22 of the 2023-24 La Liga. Gerard Moreno handed Villarreal the lead before Ilias Akhomach made it 2-0. Goals from Ilkay Gundogan and Pedri restored parity for the hosts before Barcelona took the lead with Eric Bailly's own goal. Later, Goncalo Guedes levelled the scoreline before Alexander Sorloth and Jose Morales netted two late goals to beat Barcelona.
Barcelona have scripted these unwanted records
As per Opta, Barcelona have made eight errors leading to goals in the 2023-24 season across all competitions. Only Brighton (10) have made more errors among all the teams in the 2023-24 season across Europe's big five leagues. They have conceded 29 goals in 21 La Liga matches this season, the most goals conceded among the top-six teams in the Spanish top flight.
Pedri ran the show for Barcelona
Pedri scored his 18th goal for Barcelona in 163 appearances. He netted his 14th goal in 85 La Liga matches. He has netted two goals in 17 appearances this season across competitions. As per Opta, Pedri has been involved in a goal in consecutive league games for the fourth time (one goal and one assist) and the first time since January 2023 (two goals).
Points table and match stats
Barcelona suffered just their third defeat in La Liga 2023-24. They remain third with 44 points from 21 matches. Defending La Liga champions Barca are 10 points behind Real Madrid. Villarreal are 14th with 23 points from 22 matches. They won the 6th match. Barca had 10 shots on target from 22 attempts. Villarreal scored five goals from six shots on target.
Moreno races to 98 goals for Villarreal
Villarreal forward Gerard Moreno now has 98 goals for Villarreal in all competitions, having played 213 matches. In 160 La Liga games, he has scored 75 times. This season, Moreno has 10 league goals and 11 in all competitions.
A stunning contest sees Barca suffer
Moreno handed Villarreal the lead ahead of half-time before Barca scored three in a space of 11 minutes to make it 3-2. Before Bailly's own goal in the 71st minute, Akhomach had made it 2-2 for Villarreal. In the 84th minute, Guedes made it 3-3 before the visitors scored twice in second-half added time. Barca were also denied a penalty when it was 3-3.
