Barcelona restored their four-point lead at the LaLiga summit following a 2-0 victory over 10-man Villarreal.

An early Raphinha penalty and Lamine Yamal`s second-half strike secured all three points for Hansi Flick`s side at Estadio de la Ceramica.

The Blaugrana, who were without Andreas Christensen due to an ACL injury, broke the deadlock after just 12 minutes, as Raphinha sent Luiz Junior the wrong way from 12 yards after he was fouled by Santi Comesana.

Raphinha hit the bar shortly afterwards, before Villarreal thought they had equalised when Jules Kounde put through his own net, only for the goal to be ruled out for an offside.

The hosts were reduced to 10 men six minutes before the break, with Renato Veiga shown a straight red card for a rash two-footed challenge on Yamal.

Yamal doubled Barca`s lead in the 63rd minute, sweeping home after Junior kept out substitute Robert Lewandowski`s initial effort.

The visitors almost grabbed a third in stoppage time when Sergi Cardona cleared off the line to deny Marcus Rashford, but the two-goal advantage was enough to get Flick`s side over the line.

Data Debrief: Lewandowski hits landmark appearance

Barca are now unbeaten in each of their last 18 LaLiga away games against Villarreal (W14 D4), winning each of their most recent eight.

Lewandowski climbed off the bench to make his 500th appearance in the top five European leagues, making him the 10th striker to reach the landmark in the 21st century.

Raphinha became the first Blaugrana player to score, win a penalty, and hit the post in a single match in any competition since Luis Suarez against Real Madrid in October 2018.

And Flick`s side have hit the woodwork 14 times in LaLiga this season, more than any other team in Europe`s top five leagues.

Barca have scored 169 goals in 60 matches across all competitions in 2025, only netting more times in a calendar year on four occasions - 2015 (180), 2012 (175), 2016 (174) and 2011 (170).

Flick: Happy to Get the Three Points, This Is the Key to Victory

German coach Hans Flick, the coach of Barcelona, expressed his complete satisfaction after his team`s 2-0 victory over Villarreal in the 17th round of the Spanish League, emphasizing the strength of the team and the speed of their opponent in attack.

Flick said: "They have a great team, very fast in attack, and I am very happy that we got the three points today."

The Barcelona coach continued: "I think Koundé is fine, he was sick during the past three or four days and did not come to the match in the best condition. I believe what happened today is not something serious."

He added: "The most important thing is to get the points. Juan Garcia made several great saves and played a big match. My team feels a bit tired, but the spirit and mental state are excellent. Three more points, and it`s great to end the year this way."

Flick went on: "It`s not my job to decide if Juan Garcia goes to the national team; I am happy to have him in my team."

He added: "I think we have improved many things, the mental state, the quality of the team is very good. The most important thing is the way the team is trained with a lot of intensity and quality. When there were weeks we did not play well, I did not understand that either because we were training well."

He pointed out: "Now we have to celebrate Christmas with family, I think this is important. I wish the best for everyone, especially Dani Olmo, Gavi, Pedri, and Ronald Araujo who could not be present today."

Regarding the red card received by Villarreal defender Renato Veiga, he said: "For me, it was a clear red card. He was heading towards Lamine Yamal, and he had to deal with that."

Flick concluded his speech by saying: "The most important thing is that we maintained defensive stability, and we work on that in training and by reviewing videos. This was the key to victory."