Sports Correspondent

Barcelona rebounded from its first defeat of the season, a midweek loss to Monaco in the UEFA Champions League, with a strong performance against Villarreal. Under Hansi Flick, the team has now won all six of its league matches this season, despite a shaky start.

Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring with two goals in the first 35 minutes, but Villarreal quickly responded through Ayoze Perez. The hosts almost equalized early in the second half when Nicolas Pepe was narrowly ruled offside during a counter-attack.

Pablo Torre then extended Barcelona’s lead to 3-1 after the break. A potential fourth goal was denied when Lewandowski missed a penalty, hitting the post after a VAR review confirmed Lamine Yamal was fouled in the box.

Villarreal had another goal disallowed as Eric Bailly’s header was again called back for offside. Barcelona’s captain, Raphinha, added a deflected goal to make it 4-1, before scoring a fifth with a volley from a brilliant assist by Yamal.

However, Flick’s day was marred by the injury of goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen, who left the field on a stretcher just before halftime.