With the LaLiga title secured, a party atmosphere at the Estadio Lluis Companys was the backdrop for what could be Barça’s last home game there before a return to Camp Nou.
Just three minutes in, a lightning-fast breakaway from Villarreal got the finish it deserved as Ayoze Pérez got on the end of a cross-field pass from Nicolas Pépé and directed a low shot inside the post.
It punctured the mood slightly, but that only seemed to galvanise the hosts.
Fermín López almost equalised shortly after, and the same player was denied by a point-blank save from Luiz Júnior with less than 10 minutes played.
Thereafter, the match took on a familiar pattern, with the hosts enjoying the lion’s share of possession and the visitors content to play on the counter attack.
A towering Robert Lewandowski header was somehow kept out at one end, whilst Nicolas Pépé over complicated things to see his breakaway chance go begging at the other.
Though the Yellow Submarine had successfully shut down Lamine Yamal for long periods, the teenager still managed to equalise with a trademark strike – his ninth in the league – on 38’.
An astonishing piece of skill from the 17-year-old almost brought Barça’s second, but the Catalans didn’t have to wait long as Fermín drilled one home in first-half injury-time. Five minutes after HT, Villarreal’s Santi Comesaña broke the offside trap and dinked an exquisite chip over Marc-André ter Stegen.
But to the visitors’ credit, they continued to push forward and make a game of it. Barça applied the pressure but were always susceptible to the ball over the top, and to that end, a chess match of sorts began to develop.
In the closing stages of the game, Frenkie de Jong and Fermín kept things ticking over in a congested midfield, and Raphinha dragged a simple chance wide with 15 to play.
Pau Cubarsí and Iñigo Martínez kept Villarreal’s chances to a minimum with some excellent defending, but they could do nothing when Tajon Buchanan was left all alone in the box with time and space to smash the ball into the net.
Marcelino duly notched just a second win in 23 personal encounters against Barcelona, whilst Hansi Flick’s side will travel to Athletic Club on the final weekend looking to end the season on a high.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Fermín López (Barcelona)
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