Barcelona 3-5 Villarreal: Yellow Submarines hit Barca for five

Barcelona endured a traumatic evening on Saturday, as visitors Villarreal scored two stoppage-time goals to secure a 5-3 LaLiga victory before their manager, Xavi Hernandez, announced his resignation at the end of the season.

Barcelona remained third in the standings with 44 points, ten behind leaders Real Madrid and eight behind second-place Girona.

One week after the Real Madrid-Almeria match, which featured several controversial refereeing decisions, another two debatable VAR rulings in Barcelona sparked outrage.

Villarreal's Gerard Moreno had an early effort ruled out by referee Jose Munuera, who believed that a player in an offside position had interfered with play, infuriating the visitors' players and manager Marcelino.

Although Barcelona had 70% possession, Villarreal took a 2-0 lead with goals from Moreno in the 41st minute and Ilias Akhomach in the 54th.

First, they caught the hosts off guard with a throw-in, as Alexander Sorloth reacted quickly to deliver a fine low cross to Moreno, who unleashed a first-time strike into the top corner, before Ilias Akhomach took advantage of defender Joao Cancelo's error.

Barcelona fought back in an 11-minute span, with Ilkay Gundogan and Pedri scoring eight minutes apart before Eric Bailly's own goal in the 71st minute while attempting to clear Frenkie de Jong's free kick.

Villarreal responded when Sorloth launched another quick counterattack with a great long pass to Goncalo Guedes, who collected the ball in stride and fired home the equalizer six minutes later.

Barcelona went on the attack, earning a penalty in the 90th minute for a handball by Santi Comesana. However, after a VAR review, the referee reversed his decision, despite the video replay clearly showing the ball had hit his elbow.

With Barcelona looking for a winner, their defence was exposed, and Sorloth and Jose Luis Morales scored to seal the victory.

Villarreal moved up to 14th in the standings with 23 points.

SportsLigue