VILA-Real: Barcelona wingers Raphinha and Lamine Yamal guided the Catalan giants four points clear at the top of La Liga with a 2-0 win at 10-man Villarreal on Sunday.&nbsp;Brazil international Raphinha won and converted an early penalty before Villarreal&#39;s Renato Veiga was sent off before half-time for a late lunge on teenager Yamal.&nbsp;The 18-year-old slotted home Barca&#39;s second midway through the second half, as Hansi Flick&#39;s side restored their advantage on Real Madrid, second, and won an eighth consecutive league game.&nbsp;Villarreal are fourth after Atletico Madrid moved ahead of them with a 3-0 win at Girona earlier on.&nbsp;Flick launched into an impassioned defence of Raphinha on Saturday after he was not included in FIFA&#39;s &#39;The Best&#39; team of the year earlier in the week, and the winger quickly repaid his coach.&nbsp;Raphinha produced an all-action display at Villarreal&#39;s Estadio de la Ceramica, where the match was played instead of in Miami, after La Liga&#39;s plans to take this game to the United States were scrapped in October.&nbsp;Barca were poor defensively and struggled in their build-up play, but the quality of wingers Raphinha and Yamal and their goalkeeper Joan Garcia&#39;s outstanding performance decided an entertaining encounter.&nbsp;Jules Kounde blocked Villarreal striker Ayoze Perez&#39;s shot before Raphinha drew a foul from Santi Comesana to win a penalty at the other end.&nbsp;The winger dispatched it confidently and nearly added the second with a superb effort from distance which crashed back off the bar.&nbsp;Kounde deflected a cross into his own net as Villarreal fought back, but the goal was disallowed for offside in the build-up.&nbsp;Barca stopper Joan Garcia saved from Tajon Buchanan after an Alejandro Balde mistake as Villarreal almost levelled.&nbsp;The visitors&#39; job was made easier by Veiga&#39;s needless red card for an ugly, late lunge on Yamal before the interval.&nbsp;The champions got their second goal after a scramble in the box, with Frenkie de Jong teeing up Yamal to fire home after 63 minutes.&nbsp;Joan Garcia made stunning saves to deny Rafa Marin and Georges Mikautadze to help Barca end 2026 with three points and a third clean sheet in their last three games across all competitions.&nbsp;Kounde went off hurt before the end, potentially adding to Flick&#39;s problems at the back following Andreas Christensen being diagnosed with a partially torn knee ligament.&nbsp;Barca finish the year in better shape than rivals Real Madrid, who beat Sevilla 2-0 on Saturday, but still with plenty of their own concerns to worry about.

Football

Raphinha and Lamine Yamal powered Barcelona to a 2-0 win at 10-man Villarreal, moving four points clear atop La Liga, extending an eight-game winning run as Flick’s side overcame defensive struggles with late Yamal goal.

Barca's Raphinha, Yamal strike in Villarreal win

BARCELONA: Lamine Yamal is fit again and ready to play a week before the first clasico of the season, Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said Friday.&nbsp;Yamal and midfielder Ferm&iacute;n L&oacute;pez have both recovered from injuries and could play at least part of Barcelona&rsquo;s La Liga game against Girona on Saturday.&nbsp;&ldquo;They&rsquo;re back, but they can&rsquo;t yet play the full 90 minutes,&rdquo; Flick said.&nbsp;After Girona, Barcelona hosts Olympiakos on Tuesday in the Champions League and then visits Real Madrid on October 26, in the Spanish league.&nbsp;Yamal has been affected by a groin injury for weeks.&nbsp;The 18-year-old star missed four games for Barcelona before he returned for two appearances, only to aggravate the injury in a loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on October 1.&nbsp; That ruled him out of a game at Sevilla, which Barcelona lost 4-1, and then two World Cup qualifiers for Spain, which his national team won without him.&nbsp;Ferm&iacute;n has missed four games for Barcelona and was ruled out of Spain&rsquo;s qualifiers with a left-leg muscle injury.&nbsp;Flick said he hoped Brazil forward Raphinha will have recovered from a hamstring injury in time for the Madrid match.&nbsp;Barcelona&rsquo;s injury list still includes strikers Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres, midfielders Dani Olmo and Gavi P&aacute;ez and goalkeeper Joan Garc&iacute;a.&nbsp;Second-placed Barcelona trails Madrid by two points at the top of the Spanish league.

Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal and Fermín López have recovered from injuries and could feature against Girona, coach Hansi Flick said. Yamal’s return boosts Barcelona before the October 26 clasico against leaders Real Madrid.

Articles tagged with "lamine yamal"

Barca's Raphinha, Yamal strike in Villarreal win

Yamal returns from injury ahead of Barcelona’s crucial Madrid clash

Barca's Raphinha, Yamal strike in Villarreal win