Villarreal head coach Marcelino García Toral provided a post-match analysis of his team's 1-4 away defeat to Barcelona in the 26th round of La Liga.  

Marcelino said: "I think the score was too cruel for us. The game was very close for a long time until it became 3-1. That moment was very heavy for us, it was a big mistake. We should have handled that defensive situation better, but from then on the game started to get out of control. Before that, we had a great chance to make it 2-2 with an open goal."  

Regarding the match result, the Asturian coach pointed out that Barcelona's precise finishing, especially Ramin Yamal's outstanding performance, determined the outcome. He stated, "The opponent seized their opportunities. We started well and created some attacking chances, but the first goal conceded stemmed from our defensive error, the second goal was a brilliant individual performance from Ramin Yamal, and the third goal, as I said before, was an avoidable mistake. We must learn from this."  

Despite Villarreal's 1-4 away defeat to Barcelona, Marcelino praised the players' fighting spirit against the league leaders. He said, "I'm satisfied with the team's level of play, and I'm pleased with the way we faced the powerful Barcelona."  

“But I think the scoreline is somewhat unfair compared to our performance on the pitch. We know that Barcelona wins almost every home game and scores a lot of goals. This game was bound to be challenging. We played well, but we still need to continue to improve and avoid making mistakes against strong teams.”  

Image source: Internet/Villarreal official website