Barcelona have not forgotten what happened on their last trip to Villarreal
Barça were denied two clear penalties last season
The Catalans are unbeaten in a decade in Villarreal
Barcelona travel to Villarreal this Sunday having drawn their on their last two trips to the Estadio de la Cerámica. They are also unbeaten there in more than a decade. Despite that, there was a bittersweet feeling the last time they player there.
Last season the game fell in the 17th week of the season and ended in a draw, with Lionel Messi scoring a free-kick late in the game. But the Blaugrana were left angry as referee Iglesias Villanueva failed to give two clear penalties.
The home team, coached then by Fran Escriba, had gone ahead at the beginning of the second half when Nicola Sansone scored on the counter-attack.
Barça's leveller arrived 30 second before the end via a Messi set piece.
In that game, the Villarreal side was: Asenjo, Mario, Mussachio (Álvaro), Víctor Ruiz, Jaume Costa, Bruno, Trigueros, Dos Santos, Soriano (Rodrigo), Sansone and Pato (Castillejo).
Barça lined up with: Ter Stegen, Sergi Roberto, Piqué, Mascherano, Digne (Arda Turan), Busquets, André Gomes (Denis Suárez), Iniesta, Messi, Suárez and Neymar.
TWO DRAWS
It was the second draw between the two teams in a row in Villarreal. The meeting their the season before had ended 2-2, with the home side coming from two goals down.
Villarreal's last win at home against Barça was on Nov. 20, 2007, more than a decade ago, when Manuel Pellegrini's side beat Frank Rijkaard's 3-1.
Santi Cazorla opened the scoring, with Marcos Senna scoring the other two. Bojan netted for Barça.
HEALTHY BALANCE
Before the two draws, Barça had won three times at Villarreal and their record there in the last decade is six wins and four draws.
In total, Villarreal and Barça have played 17 times in the Primera Division with a balance of five home wins, four draws and eight away wins, with 25 goals for Villarreal and 26 for Barça.
