La Liga
CHUKWUEZE’S GOAL NOT ENOUGH AS VILLARREAL SLUMP 1-2 AT HOME TO BARCELONA
Nigeria’s Samuel Chukwueze opened scoring for Villarreal, but his side ended up 2-1 loser in Sunday’s La Liga match with Barcelona.
But the joy of the goal was short-lived as Frenchman, Antoine Griezmann scored moments later and also added a second goal for Barcelona to draw level on points with second-placed Real Madrid.
Super Eagles’ dashing winger, Samuel Chukwueze’s quest with Villarreal for top flight action in Europe next season thus suffered a big dent.
The loss thus meant Villarreal will remain in seventh position with 49 points but six more matches left to play as they continue with the struggle for Europa league spot alongside Real Sociedad and Real Betis that pulled a valuable 0-0 score line at Real Madrid on Saturday night.
As for Barcelona, they moved level on points with second place Real Madrid but with a game in hand and have Atletico Madrid, who they stay have to play, in their sights.
There were two big scares however: the first when they went behind early, and the second when Leo Messi stayed down in agony after a red card challenge from Manu Trigueros.
Griezmann could have put Barcelona in the lead after just five minutes when Frenkie de Jong teed him up perfectly but his shot was blocked for a corner.
At the other end Villarreal top scorer Gerard Moreno shot over from Samuel Chukwueze’s cross.
Unai Emery’s team were a match for Barcelona early on and when Trigueros spun away from Gerard Pique and slid a pass through to Paco Alcacer the midfielder’s assist deserved a better finish from the Spain forward.
Barcelona had their best early chance on 15 minutes when Griezmann played Jordi Alba to the byline and he crossed for De Jong unmarked at the back post but the Dutchman’s shot was saved on his line by Sergio Asenjo. The keeper then kept out Messi’s shot as his near post.
Villarreal took the lead on 27 minutes and it was Chukwueze’s pace that did for Barcelona’s defence. Paul Torres stepped out from the back and played Villarreal’s lightning quick winger into space.
Jordi Alba had followed the Nigerian forward across from the left flank to the right but he slipped and Chukwueze stepped around Ter Stegen to score.
Barcelona’s response was immediate and the story of two dinks. First Oscar Mingueza dinked the ball over the top of Villarreal’s defence and, running on to it, Griezmann dinked the ball over Asenjo for an instant equalizer.
Griezmann then put Barcelona into the lead 10 minutes before the break with another gift of a pass, this time from one of his rivals. Tottenham loanee Juan Foyfth passed the ball back to his keeper but it was cut out en-route by the alert Frenchman who scored his 11th of the season in La Liga.
Koeman brought Sergio Roberto on at the break and, on the break, his run and cross went just beyond Griezmann. Messi then shot over as Barcelona tried to find a third goal to put the game to bed.
Emery, seeing that Villarreal were not getting back into the game, took off forward Paco Alcacer and put on former Arsenal midfielder Francis Coquelin.
Koeman looked to respond with Ilaix Moriba but before he could reinforce his midfield Capoue almost scored. His low straight shot was saved by the leg of Ter Stegen.
In 65 minutes the game changed, the season could have changed too. Trigueros went studs up into Messi’s ankle. Trigueros had to walk but the straight red would have been little consolation if Messi had been unable to carry on. The unintentional challenge was bad enough to end his season but Barça and Messi’s luck was in – he got up to carry on.
With 10 minutes left Griezmann went off a goal short of what would have been his first hat-trick for Barcelona and Ousmane Dembele came on to run at Villarreal’s defence. Despite having a man-down they were still very much in the game.
With six minutes left De Jong could have eased Koeman’s nerves. Dembele raced away and played the perfect pass to the Dutchman but his lob went wide.
Villarreal forced a late corner on 90 minutes and then had to face five minutes of added time but they saw it out and stayed on course – a little shaken but with their fate in their own hands.
Barcelona said their request for a permit to return to the Camp Nou for Sunday’s LaLiga match against Real Sociedad has been denied, with the city council highlighting safety and security issues with the revamped venue.
Barca had been hoping to return to a reduced-capacity Camp Nou with 27,000 spectators but have failed to obtain the necessary permits from Barcelona City Council.
Barca will instead host the match at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Montjuic, where they played during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons with renovations at Camp Nou now nine months behind schedule.
“We have spotted different elements that need to be fixed and have an impact in the safety and security of the stadium,” chief of civil protection Sebastia Massague said at a city council meeting.
Barca had to begin their LaLiga home campaign at the Estadi Johan Cruyff in their own training complex, where only 6,000 fans attended their match against Valencia on September 14, after a Post Malone concert left the Lluis Companys pitch in poor condition.
“The club is currently working on the new amendments that the council has shared today,” Barca said in a statement.
On Friday, the Catalan club also announced that their Champions League group stage match against Paris St Germain on October 1 would also take place at the Lluis Companys.
Barca are second in LaLiga, trailing leaders Real Madrid by five points but having played a game fewer.
-Reuters
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Villarreal midfielder Thomas Partey on Wednesday appeared in a London court and pleaded not guilty to charges of rape and sexual assault involving three women.
Partey, a Ghana international, is accused of five counts of rape relating to two women, plus a charge of sexual assault against a third woman, between April 2021 and June 2022.
The alleged offences took place when Partey played for Premier League soccer club Arsenal. He left the club this summer and signed for Spain’s Villarreal.
The 32-year-old appeared in the dock at Southwark Crown Court and spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth and enter his not guilty pleas.
Partey was released on bail ahead of his trial, which was listed for Nov. 2, 2026 and is due to take between six and eight weeks.
He was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59.2 million) in 2020 and became a key member of the English side’s first team, before his contract expired at the end of June.
Partey played for Villarreal in their Champions League game against Arsenal’s bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday night.
He came on as a second-half substitute and was booed loudly by the Spurs fans every time he touched the ball.
-Reuters
Villarreal and Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey, who has been charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, walks outside Southwark Crown Court, in London, Britain, September 17, 2025. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska
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Real Madrid on Tuesday denounced plans to stage a LaLiga match between Barcelona and Villarreal in Miami, warning the proposal could undermine football’s competitive balance and vowing to petition global governing bodies to block the move.
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) on Monday approved the December 20 fixture at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, which could become the first LaLiga match held abroad and the first European league fixture staged in the United States.
“Real Madrid wish to express to its members, supporters and football fans in general its firm rejection of the proposal,” the club said in a statement, revealing they have already urged FIFA, UEFA and Spain’s Higher Sports Council (CSD) to intervene.
The club accused the RFEF of making its decision “without informing or consulting the clubs participating in the competition” and argued that staging the match in Miami “violates the essential principle of territorial reciprocity” in home-and-away league formats.
Real further stated that the move would “alter the competitive balance” and grant “an unfair sporting advantage” to the clubs involved.
The club also warned that approving the proposal could compromise sporting integrity and “set an unacceptable precedent,” insisting any change of this nature should require “the express and unanimous agreement of all the clubs participating in the competition”.
The plan still requires approval from UEFA, US Soccer, CONCACAF and ultimately FIFA before LaLiga President Javier Tebas can realise his long-held ambition of taking Spanish football to the U.S.
-Reuters
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