With the help of another extremely cool Robert Lewandowski, Barcelona have recovered from the hangover they suffered in Madrid last Sunday. After losing 3-1 at rivals and leaders Real Madrid, the Catalans followed up with a 3-0 win over Villarreal at home.

With Frenkie de Jong in the starting XI, Barcelona got off to a rocky start. Xavi Hernández’s team initially managed to create few chances. Arnaut Danjuma had the best opportunity but the six-time Orange international, who scored twice for Villarreal against Osasuna last Monday, allowed himself to be sidelined too far to pose a real threat.

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After half an hour, however, the home team suddenly started moving. Thanks to who else, Robert Lewandowski. He couldn’t seem to control a low cross from the left, but looks were deceiving. With two Villarreal defenders down, the Pole still took care of the ball to put it in goal in one go: 1-0.

The game was decided less than ten minutes later. Lewandowski again made it 3-0 at half-time with a beautiful long-range shot and Ansu Fati, who hit the post and sent the ball over the goal line in the second half. And with that, Villarreal had conceded as many goals in one half as in the first nine league games of the season.

Eleven league goals

After the break, the handbrake applied for the home side, where the strong-playing De Jong was allowed to take a shower early. That also applied to Lewandowski, who remained with eleven league goals in ten games.

The last four Barcelona players to also score at least ten goals in their first ten La Liga games were Brazilians Ronaldo (12 goals in 1996) and Romário (12 in 1993), Austria’s Hans Krankl (10 in 1978) and Johan Cruyff (11, 1974). Altogether Lewandowksi has already scored sixteen goals this season, for which he needed fourteen games.