Barcelona have moved three points clear at the top of La Liga courtesy of a 3-0 win over Villarreal on Sunday.
Neymar and Luis Suarez were once again the goal-scorers for the hosts, who took the lead on the hour through Neymar, before Suarez netted from the penalty spot 10 minutes later.
Neymar then scored a wonderful individual goal in the 85th minute to secure a comfortable three points.
The result has moved Luis Enrique's side to the summit, but victory for Real Madrid later this evening would see Los Blancos enter the international break top of the pile.
As for Villarreal, who struggled after conceding the first goal, they remain fifth in the table on 20 points.
Here, Sports Mole has dissected the 90 minutes of action at Camp Nou.
Match statistics
BARCELONA
Shots: 19
On target: 9
Possession: 64%
Corners: 7
Fouls: 12
VILLARREAL
Shots: 5
On target: 2
Possession: 36%
Corners: 2
Fouls: 19
Was the result fair?
While the statistics suggest that Barcelona deserved to claim all the points in comfortable fashion, not too many would have predicted a 3-0 home win at the interval. During the first period, Villarreal frustrated Barcelona and indeed had the better chances to open the scoring. The hosts' frustration continued after the break as they picked up bookings for dissent, but the whole contest changed on the hour when Barcelona took the lead through a super Neymar finish. At that point, Villarreal were still in the game, but the Yellow Submarine never really kicked on when Barcelona took it up a level.
The game's second goal was always going to be crucial and when Jaume Costa dived into Munir El-Haddadi inside the penalty box, Suarez stepped up to score Barcelona's second. It was cruise control from that moment, but Neymar still had time to produce the game's outstanding moment - controlling a cross from Suarez before twisting and finding the back of the net. There is no question that the home side deserved to claim all the points, but the final scoreline is perhaps a shade harsh on Villarreal, who competed for long spells. It was once again Neymar and Suarez that made the difference for Enrique's team.
Barcelona's performance
Barcelona are still without a couple of key players through injury, but Andres Iniesta's return has come at a vital time after Ivan Rakitic picked up a long-term problem. It was Iniesta that dropped into a midfield role, allowing Munir to start in the final third alongside Neymar and Suarez. Barcelona controlled matters in the first period, but clear chances were few and far between. Indeed, their first real chance did not arrive until the 27th minute, when Suarez played in Jeremy Mathieu, but the French defender could not beat Villarreal's goalkeeper, who had a busy game as the match progressed at Camp Nou.
Villarreal twice came close in the latter stages of the first period and whistles at the break demonstrated that the home supporters were not pleased with their team. Suarez and Neymar both picked up bookings in the early stages of the second period as the visitors continued to frustrate, but a wonderful Sergio Busquets pass allowed Neymar to break the deadlock on the hour. It was then 2-0 10 minutes later when Suarez converted from the spot and at that point, the game was over.
Barcelona's second-half performance was impressive on the whole, but the show once again belonged to Neymar, who rounded off the scoring with a stunning goal to continue his excellent run of form. It was far from vintage Barcelona for long spells, but the fact they managed 19 attempts against a Villarreal team that have been excellent this season is an indication of their dominance. Add Lionel Messi back into the fold and they are surely the side to beat once again in this campaign.
Villarreal's performance
It was not too much of a surprise when the teamsheets were handed in and it became clear that head coach Marcelino had gone for Roberto Soldado as his lone striker. Bruno, Tomas Pina and Jonathan dos Santos were also selected to boost the midfield and there is no question that the away side's game-plan worked in the first period. The likes of Mario Gaspar and Victor Ruiz had impressive games at the back and Barcelona's frustration was an indication of Villarreal's own success.
The Yellow Submarine had a couple of excellent chances to take the lead in the first period, but Soldado could only flash an attempt wide of the post in the 37th minute, before Samu Castillejo brought a super save from Claudio Bravo in stoppage time. It was a strong first-half performance from the visitors, but they just never really kicked on in the second. One mistake from Dos Santos, who conceded possession, allowed Busquets to pick out Neymar for 1-0 and a crazy challenge from Costa saw Barcelona score a second from the penalty spot. Two mistakes, two goals and it was all over as a contest.
It was always going to be a difficult for Villarreal to contain the home side as the minutes progressed and they needed their on-loan goalkeeper Alphonse Areola to make a number of excellent saves in the latter stages. A third arrived for Barcelona, however, when Neymar scored a wonderful second. Marcelino threw on Cedric Bakambu late on in a bid to get back into the game, but it was too little, too late. In truth, the visitors were actually quite impressive for long spells, but they just had no answer to the brilliance of Neymar and Suarez. They really should still be challenging for the top four this season.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Neymar: As has been a common occurrence in recent weeks, this could easily have been awarded to either Neymar or Suarez. The former just gets the nod, however, after scoring a couple of wonderful goals. His first was an excellent near-post finish, but he showed all of his skill and ability in scoring the second. The Brazilian was comfortably his team's best player in the first 45 minutes and that remained the case in the second. He has now scored 11 league goals this season.
Biggest gaffe
Villarreal only have themselves to blame for falling 2-0 behind and Marcelino will be particularly furious about the penalty. When Munir drove into the Villarreal box, there was not that much danger, but experienced left-back Costa came across and completely took out the youngster, who did not have the chance to stay on his feet. It was a terrible challenge from a player that should have known better at a key stage of the game.
Referee performance
Safe to say that Barcelona were not too pleased with referee Clos Gomez's performance at Camp Nou. The likes of Iniesta, Suarez and Neymar were all booked for dissent in a game that brought eight yellow cards. Gomez was correct in awarding Barcelona a penalty, but it was not exactly a difficult decision. Gomez was perhaps more involved than he should have been.
What next?
Barcelona: After the international break, Barcelona will travel to Real Madrid for El Clasico.
Villarreal: Marcelino's side return to action at home to Eibar on November 22.
Matt Law
