Champions Barcelona Lose 3-2 to Villarreal at Home

La Liga champions Barcelona were defeated 3-2 by Villarreal at their home ground on Sunday.

The match was played at the Olympic Lluis Companys Stadium. Villarreal’s goals came from Álex Baena Pérez, Santi Comesaña, and Tajon Buchanan. For Barcelona, Lamine Yamal and Fermín López found the net.

With this win, Villarreal moved to 5th place in the table with 67 points from 37 matches and have secured a spot in next season’s UEFA Champions League.

Barcelona remain at the top with 85 points from the same number of matches.

Villarreal took the lead early in the 4th minute through Pérez. Barcelona then came back strongly, with Yamal scoring the equalizer in the 38th minute. Just before halftime, Fermín López scored again to make it 2-1 for Barcelona.

However, Villarreal didn’t give up. Comesaña scored in the 50th minute to level the game. Later, substitute Tajon Buchanan scored in the 80th minute to give Villarreal a 3-2 lead and the victory.

Although Barcelona had already won the league in the previous match, they had hoped to celebrate the title with a win at home — but the loss made it a bittersweet moment.

In other Sunday matches, Real Madrid beat Sevilla 2-0, Atlético Madrid won 4-1 against Real Betis, and Athletic Bilbao defeated Valencia 1-0.

Along with Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, and Villarreal have all confirmed their spots in the Champions League next season.