Very important win and a good performance overall even if there were too many basketball moments in the first half an hour. Villarreal were never going to be an easy opponent, especially with their attacking talent and counter threat, as well as their strong recent away record against us.The midfield as expected was not well-balanced in the first 45 minutes, and kudos to Bernal for being a consistent metronome throughout. Olmo often took a little too long on the ball which cost us at times and the positioning wasn't always optimal between the trio.Ref allowed far too many fouls with a lot of double standards. And the linesman either delaying offsides or in the case of our fourth goal calling off the most obvious onside was infuriating.Lamine with his first hattrick, and all wonderful goals. He was absolutely on fire today!Fermín was absolutely everywhere! Could've been MOTM were it not for the obvious with Lamine.Pau was very good too. Aside from his horrific shot in the first half, Jules had a very good game as well. Our defenders actually did a good job of intercepting a lot of dangerous passes and then starting quick transitions, which played a big part in a lot of the chances we created.Second half we started well , but after Olmo's chance Villarreal scammed a goal via a few dodgy sequences and then all of a sudden things looked nervy for a bit. Thank goodness that Ayoze chance didn't go in.Flick's changes were perfect especially after what we saw. Not a surprise to anybody the impact that Pedri especially had in terms of both midfield control and chance creation. Absolutely gorgeous assist for Lamine's goal, and pre-assist for Lewy's.The late subs to give Lamine and Raph rest were smart too.Onto the Copa del Rey second leg against Atléti, and what will be an exciting game no matter the result. Who knows if we can get it done. But if any team can, then it's us!

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https://twitter.com/BarcaUniversal/status/2025622587607286143Frenkie de Jong against Levante:• 1 goal• 1 big chance created• 4 key passes• 6/6 long balls• 53 carries• 127 touches• 113 passes (missed only 3 passes)• 4 defensive contributions• 4 duels won

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