Barcelona beat Aston Villa 3-0 in the Champions League as Raphinha scored twice after Lamine Yamal's early opener, leaving Villa with nine points.
Barcelona beat Aston Villa 3-0 at Camp Nou on Tuesday night, and Villa wrote the first line themselves.
Seven minutes in, Joao Gomes played a blind pass across his own penalty area, straight to Lamine Yamal, who curled it into the far corner. Raphinha did the rest after the break: a deflected shot in the 52nd minute, then a tap-in from a Cancelo cross in the 64th. UEFA named him Man of the Match.
The numbers are loud. Raphinha now has 19 goals in 13 Barcelona appearances this season, according to the Guardian. Yamal's was his 13th of the campaign, alongside 11 assists, and Barcelona move up to second in the table, per Sky Sports. The Independent calls him the highest-scoring teenager in Champions League history.
Villa had won three from three in the league phase and leave Spain with nine points. On Unai Emery's 55th birthday, this was their joint-heaviest defeat in major European competition, level with Royal Antwerp in 1975 and Internazionale in 1990. Emery has now lost 15 of his 16 away matches against Barcelona, according to the Independent.
My take: that opening goal was a habit, not a freak. Villa have seven errors leading to goals in all competitions this season, joint-most among Premier League sides alongside Sunderland, per Sky Sports. Give a front line like Barcelona's a gift in minute seven and the rest is arithmetic.
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Sources
- Barcelona 3-0 Aston Villa: Raphinha double sees Barca go second in Champions League standings, Sky Sports
- Raphinha underlines Barcelona’s class to give Aston Villa a reality check, the Guardian
- Barcelona sweep aside Aston Villa as Unai Emery endures another miserable Nou Camp night, The Independent
- @FabrizioRomano: Raphinha, UEFA Man of the Match for Barcelona-Aston Villa, X
Meanwhile at the desk
Seven minutes, one blind pass, one free assist. Cheapest transfer of the night: no fee, and Villa were the ones who delivered it.
About 3,000 Villa fans travelled for the first meeting with Barcelona since January 1983. They got a joint-record European defeat. Someone should be asked who approved that pass out of the back.
