{"id":18093,"date":"2025-12-21T19:04:45","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T19:04:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/21\/rafinha-and-yamal-score-as-la-liga-leaders-barcelona-beat-villarreal\/"},"modified":"2025-12-21T19:04:45","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T19:04:45","slug":"rafinha-and-yamal-score-as-la-liga-leaders-barcelona-beat-villarreal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/21\/rafinha-and-yamal-score-as-la-liga-leaders-barcelona-beat-villarreal\/","title":{"rendered":"Rafinha and Yamal score as La Liga leaders Barcelona beat Villarreal"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

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MADRID (AP) \u2014 Raphinha and Lamine Yamal celebrated each other’s goal with their arms raised and holding hands as Barcelona beat Villarreal 2-0 Sunday to keep the gap on Real Madrid four points clear. Standing at the top of La Liga.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rafinha was fouled as he cut inside, earning him a penalty. He was late in his run-up and, in the 12th minute, sent goalkeeper Luis Junior flying in the opposite direction to score his seventh league goal of the season and Bar\u00e7a’s 50th.<\/p>\n

Yamal also scored his seventh goal of the season with a close-range shot in the 63rd minute after midfielder Frenkie de Jong set him up in a scramble for the goalmouth.<\/p>\n

It was the seventh consecutive win in all competitions for Hansi Flick’s team.<\/p>\n

Barcelona were without central defender Andreas Christensen. I tore my ACL.<\/span> I injured my left knee during training on Saturday. <\/p>\n

Villarreal defender Renato Veiga was shown a straight red card after being tackled from behind by Yamal late in the first half and was briefly treated on the ground.<\/p>\n

With Villarreal’s defeat, Atl\u00e9tico Madrid moved into third place with a 3-0 win over Girona, albeit with two more games to play.<\/p>\n

Atl\u00e9tico heading for victory<\/h2>\n

Midfielder Koke put Atletico ahead in the 13th minute with a superb half-volley into the top right corner from just outside the penalty area.<\/p>\n

Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak made a brilliant save to deny Axel Witsel’s shot from close range midway through the first half, flicking it across the goal line with one hand.<\/p>\n

Atl\u00e9tico doubled their lead in the 38th, when midfielder Conor Gallagher’s shot from 20 meters (yards) deflected off the wrong foot of a defender and goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga.<\/p>\n

Atl\u00e9tico’s traveling fans gave a warm welcome to midfielder Thomas Lemar, who came on for Girona in the second half. The former France midfielder is on loan at Girona from Atl\u00e9tico this season, making almost 200 appearances over seven seasons for Los Colchoneros (Mattress Makers).<\/p>\n

Gallagher came on as a substitute for Nico Gonzalez in the 28th minute and came on as a substitute in the 77th minute.<\/p>\n

clinical griezmann<\/h2>\n

Veteran forward Antoine Griezmann scored the winning goal in stoppage time to seal Atletico’s victory.<\/p>\n

The former France star exchanged quick passes with fellow substitute Giacomo Raspadori on the edge of the box, controlled the ball deftly with the outside of his right foot, and curled a low shot with his left foot into the opposite corner.<\/p>\n

Girona remain in 18th place in the 20-team league.<\/p>\n

In other games after Sunday, elche<\/span> They played against Rayo Vallecano, while Real Betis played against Getafe.<\/p>\n

Real Madrid’s stars on Saturday Kylian Mbappe<\/span> celebrated my 27th birthday 59th point<\/span> Real Madrid will equal Cristiano Ronaldo’s record for most in a year in 2025. ___<\/p>\n

AP Soccer: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/soccer<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MADRID (AP) \u2014 Raphinha and Lamine Yamal celebrated each other’s goal with their arms raised and holding hands as Barcelona beat Villarreal 2-0 Sunday to keep the gap on Real Madrid four points clear. Standing at the top of La Liga. Rafinha was fouled as he cut inside, earning him a penalty. He was late<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18094,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-18093","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer"},"yoast_head":"\nRafinha and Yamal score as La Liga leaders Barcelona beat Villarreal - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News & Updates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/21\/rafinha-and-yamal-score-as-la-liga-leaders-barcelona-beat-villarreal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rafinha and Yamal score as La Liga leaders Barcelona beat Villarreal - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News & Updates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"MADRID (AP) \u2014 Raphinha and Lamine Yamal celebrated each other’s goal with their arms raised and holding hands as Barcelona beat Villarreal 2-0 Sunday to keep the gap on Real Madrid four points clear. 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