Robert Lewandowski missed an early opportunity against goalkeeper Pepe Reina, but he had better luck in passing when he exchanged the ball beautifully with Pedri, 20, who scored in the 18th minute.
Lewandowski could have scored the second goal after eight minutes, but Reina aborted the danger.
In a match marred by violent interventions, Villarreal lost the efforts of midfielder Francis Coquelin, who appeared to have suffered a severe knee injury in the 35th minute, and referee Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez announced eight yellow cards equally between the two teams within 90 minutes.
Although the hosts had more possession of the ball, the Catalan visitor had more chances, and Lewandowski and Rafinha came close to doubling the score.
In Villarreal’s few offensive attempts, he collided with the heart of Barcelona’s defense, Ronald Araujo, who is going through a wonderful period and gave safety to his team through his accuracy in clearing the ball and interfering in the second half.
Lewandowski got one last chance, but Reina shone again to deny the Poland striker the scoring, and the goalkeeper’s efforts were not enough to prevent Barcelona from collecting three points.
With this victory, coach Xabi Hernandez’s team raised its tally to 56 points from 21 games at the summit, while Villarreal occupies eighth place and has 31 points, seven points behind the fourth place that qualifies for the Champions League and is currently acquired by Atletico Madrid.
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