The Blaugrana showed glimpses of their brilliant selves but did not have enough in the tank to overcome their Champions League-chasing opponents
Three days after claiming the La Liga crown, Lamine Yamal's brilliance could not prevent champions Barcelona from falling to a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Villarreal.
It was a slow, albeit perhaps expectedly sluggish start from the newly-crowned league winners, who found themselves 1-0 down inside four minutes when former Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe beat the high Barca line and raced in behind before finding Ayoze Perez, who made no mistake in slotting the ball past Marc-Andre ter Stegen to silence the home crowd.
With work to do, Barca ramped up the intensity and took control of the game, fashioning plenty of chances in the first half. Fermin Lopez had two big opportunities to draw his side level, but was thwarted by goalkeeper Luiz Junior. But after Robert Lewandowski and Inigo Martinez also went close, up stepped Yamal with another moment of magic. The 17-year-old sensation pulled off another trademark move, cutting inside on the edge of the box before whipping a left-footed effort into the far corner.
Just before the break, Flick's side had the lead they were looking for. On the brink of the half-time whistle, the ball fell to Fermin on the edge of the box, and the midfielder took one touch before lashing the ball on the volley towards goal, where it cannoned in off the post minutes after Yamal had hit the woodwork himself with another audacious effort.
The second half started off in a similarly frantic fashion, with Villarreal once again grabbing a goal early on. This time, Yeremy Pino picked up the ball on the far side, before slipping Santi Comesana in and the midfielder calmly chipped the onrushing Ter Stegen to level things once more.
Despite the home side dominating the ball as they did in the first half, Barca were hit by a hammer blow with 10 minutes to go when a classic counter-attack saw Gerard Moreno find space to cross on the left-hand side and his ball fell all the way through to Tajon Buchanon to slot home and make it 3-2.
A flurry of substitutions and relentless pressure from Barca in the final minutes was not enough to drag themselves back into the game, handing the points to Villarreal and allowing them to secure a place in the Champions League for next season.
GOAL rates Barcelona's players from Estadi Olímpic Lluis Companys.
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Marc-Andre ter Stegen (4/10):
Struggled on his return to the starting XI, often too late off his line before slipping for the third goal.
Eric Garcia (7/10):
Had a solid shift in place of Kounde and received a standing ovation when taken off in the second half.
Pau Cubarsi (5/10):
Did not look out of place alongside Martinez and did well a few times to step up and snatch the ball from Villarreal attackers.
Inigo Martinez (6/10):
Looked good for the most part and even had a few opportunities to score in the match, but ultimately was part of a backline that conceded three goals.
Gerard Martin (6/10):
Had a quiet first half before being replaced by Balde at half-time.
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Gavi (6/10):
Had a quiet night in midfield but got stuck in where he needed to and helped keep Barca on the front foot, despite the scoreline.
Fermin Lopez (8/10):
Stepped up into the attacking midfield role with confidence and proved his worth with a cracking strike before the break.
Pedri (7/10):
Looked sharp in the middle of the park but was preserved by Flick, swapping out for De Jong in the second half.
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Lamine Yamal (9/10):
Proved once again why he is revered as the biggest talent since Lionel Messi. Scored another trademark strike and could have had at least a hat-trick on the night.
Robert Lewandowski (4/10):
Had an incredibly quiet night as he chases down Kylian Mbappe for the Pichichi and looked frustrated after being hooked with 20 minutes to go.
Raphinha (5/10):
Like Lewandowski, was off the pace in the match and had a few tame efforts that never troubled the Villarreal goal.
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Alejandro Balde (6/10):
Could not stop Villarreal from grabbing a winner after coming on.
Frenkie de Jong (7/10):
Was heavily involved after coming on at half-time, dictating the play and pressing the Villarreal midfielders at every chance.
Pau Victor (5/10):
Was not too involved in his 15-minute cameo.
Hector Fort (5/10):
Like Victor, did not do too much after coming on.
Dani Olmo (N/A):
Was introduced for the final five minutes.
Hansi Flick (5/10):
Clearly wanted to give opportunities to younger players and may have sacrificed the chance to win the game by doing so.
