Villarreal managed a stunning comeback after forcing Barcelona to surrender a two-goal lead to draw the match 2-2.
When the Catalan club took a two-goal advantage in the match, it seemed well beyond the reach of Villarreal. After all, the team were without a win in the last three games and were looking devoid of confidence. However, Villarreal have shown that they have been in the mix to the Champions League qualification spots for a reason. Ivan Rakitic scored the opening goal for Barcelona after 20 minutes before Neymar’s penalty gave them a two-goal lead just before half-time.
The comeback, however, started in the second half when Villarreal pulled one back through Bakambu. Defender Jeremy Mathieu’s own goal a few minutes later saw equality return to the game. Even though Barcelona had numerous chances in the match, they were unable to get the crucial winning goal. The dropped points have seen Real Madrid close the gap to just 10 points with the two teams set to face each other after the international break. However, Luis Enrique is not worried about dropping points in such a tight contest. He accepted that his team could have lost the game had it not been for some good fortune. Hence, he is untroubled by the dropped points.
“It is a positive result for us. It was a bit like when we were yacht chartering in Scotland, and we struggled to make it. The best teams in the league have lost here, we’ve drawn. We were close to winning, but also could have lost. It is a positive round of fixtures for us. One less [to go] and one point closer to our objectives.We knew it was going to be difficult from the moment Villarreal hit the post in the first minute.We weren’t complacent, it was just that the opponent has a lot of quality. They play from memory and have a lot of first-touch moves that are very difficult to stop,” said Enrique.