Barcelona was facing another stumble on the road when Memphis Depay came to the rescue.
The Netherlands striker scored just in time to defuse a Villarreal comeback and secure Barcelona’s 3-1 victory on Saturday, and end his team’s winless record in the Spanish league.
Seeing his team struggle to keep possession in the final minutes, goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen broke with Barcelona’s stylebook of working the ball forward with small passes. Instead, he surprised Villarreal with a long goal kick that Depay ran onto and won against two defenders. Depay then coolly dribbled around goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli before slotting the ball between the legs of Gerónimo Rulli for the 88th-minute decider.
Philippe Coutinho sealed the much-needed win with a penalty that he earned in stoppage time.
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