Barcelona beat Aston Villa 3-0 at Camp Nou on Tuesday night, with Lamine Yamal scoring after seven minutes and Raphinha adding two goals in the second half. It was matchday 4 of the Champions League league phase.
The result bounced Barcelona back from their 4-2 defeat at PSG. It ended a run of three straight wins for Villa in the games listed in our form data.
Yamal strikes early, Raphinha finishes it
Yamal scored in the seventh minute to put Barcelona ahead. That was the only goal of the first half.
It was a scrappy spell for Villa, who had Ian Maatsen booked in the 11th minute and Emiliano Buendía in the 31st. Raphinha was cautioned for Barcelona in the 45th minute, as was Villa's Nicolas Jackson.
Barcelona extended the lead early in the second half. Raphinha scored in the 52nd minute from a Fermín López assist. Twelve minutes later, in the 64th, he scored again, this time set up by João Cancelo.
Villa did not score and Barcelona kept a clean sheet.
What the numbers say
The shot count shows how one-sided it was. Barcelona had 16 shots to Villa's nine, and eight of theirs were on target. Villa managed one.
- Possession: Barcelona 65%, Villa 35%
- Shots on target: Barcelona 8, Villa 1
- Shots off target: 6 each
- Blocked shots: 2 each
- Corners: Barcelona 4, Villa 8
- Fouls: Barcelona 14, Villa 9
- Offsides: Barcelona 1, Villa 3
Villa won the corner count 8-4 and had as many shots off target as Barcelona. They rarely tested the keeper, though.
Barcelona have now scored 14 goals in four league-phase games, an average of 3.5 per game. They have conceded 6, or 1.5 per game. Villa average 3 goals scored and 1.5 conceded. Both sides have kept one clean sheet.
What it means in the table
Barcelona are second in the league-phase table with nine points from four games and a goal difference of +8. PSG lead on the same points with a goal difference of +9, having played one game fewer.
Villa stay third on nine points, with a goal difference of +6 after the heavy defeat. Both clubs sit inside the top eight, which brings automatic qualification for the knockout stage. At the other end, Slovan Bratislava are 36th with no points and a goal difference of -16.
MFF's match model had predicted a 2-1 Villa win, with a 39% chance each for a home win and an away win, and 22% for a draw. It got this one wrong.
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