Villarreal – Barcelona: Flick’s Fleet Footed Outfit Crushes the Cerámica In The End (1-5)

Barcelona banked another win to add to their perfect points haul. Though the image of complete control on the scoreline was an illusion, it is not the target Hansi Flick obsesses to achieve. In a duel of punches and counterpunches, his players pulled away at the end.

Tactical analysis and match report by Emmanuel Adeyemi-Abere.

It is standard to see Villarreal vying for continental competition. Since their return to the top flight in 2013, the club has only finished outside the top seven twice. The second of those occasions was the last campaign when the camp could not completely turn around a slow start to their affairs in the domestic division. Now, it seems business as usual. At the beginning of the weekend, Marcelino's men were only four points behind their visitors and sat level with reigning champions Real Madrid.

In the last five years, Barcelona have barely looked like the institution that caught the imagination of the masses. Brought to the brink of financial disarray, the board broke the bank without significant success. Catalonia called for a deep cleanse, putting its faith in a figure whose reputation has similarly soured. Hansi Flick is fighting to fix the tatters from his time in charge of Germany. So far, so good: he hurtled furiously out of the blocks with five straight successes at the start of . . .