Barcelona 3-0 Villarreal: Lewandowski brace seals important three points
The Polish striker struck twice and Ansu Fati also scored at Camp Nou
Barcelona returned to winning ways on Thursday as they beat Villarreal 3-0 at Camp Nou, with Robert Lewandowski scoring twice.
All the goals came in eight first-half minutes, with Ansu Fati going the third as Barça returned to within three points of leaders Real Madrid.
Xavi Hernandez made five changes to the side that suffered a 3-1 Clasico defeat as Barça looked to bounce back from that result and the draw with Inter Milan.
Ansu, Ferran Torres, Jordi Alba, Gavi and Marcos Alonso all came in to the XI, but it was Lewandowski who once again stole the show.
The Polish striker opened the scoring just after the 30-minute mark after good work from Pedri and Alba.
He added his second -- his 16th of the season in all competitions -- four minutes later with a fine finish from distance after Gavi had won the ball back high.
Ansu then got in on the act, turning home from close range after Ferran had set him up.
Frenkie de Jong also impressed in the pivote role and Barca, once ahead, played with a confidence that they have lacked since the international break.
There were no more goals after the break -- substitute Raphinha, among others, should have scored -- but it didn't matter as Barça held out for a comfortable win.
