Barcelona vs. Villarreal: Score and Reaction from 2015 La Liga Match

Neymar scored a goal-of-the-season contender as Barcelona temporarily moved three points clear at the summit of La Liga on Sunday, defeating Villarreal 3-0 to maintain their 100 percent winning record this season at the Camp Nou.

Luis Enrique's side were frustrated for 60 minutes before Neymar squeezed through the Yellow Submarine's defence to grab two goals and was joined on the scoresheet by attack partner Luis Suarez. The second of Neymar's goals was truly special, lifting the ball over a defender before volleying home.

Villarreal did well to hold the Blaugrana at bay for so long before the game's opener, but Marcelino Garcia Toral's men will tumble out of La Liga's top four, providing Atletico Madrid defeat Sporting Gijon later on Sunday.

ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan hailed the powers of Barca's in-form frontmen, who eventually battered their way through a far-from-incompetent Villarreal defence:

With Real Madrid travelling to Sevilla later on Sunday and this season's first El Clasico just under a fortnight away, Barca had all the motivation they needed to ensure they took three points from the encounter.

It was clear Villarreal arrived at the Camp Nou with the objective of absorbing punishment from one of Europe's best attacks, a tactic that came off for the opening 45 minutes in Catalonia.

JOSEP LAGO/Getty Images

Samu Castillejo fluffed perhaps the best chance of the half just minutes before the break, finding space in front of Claudio Bravo's goal only to be denied by the Barcelona No. 1. Kieran Canning of Agence France-Presse marked the chance as a let-off for the hosts:

That proved to be about as close as Villarreal would come to breaking their deadlock, and presumably it was some stern words from Enrique that triggered a swift Barca response after the restart.

With an hour on the clock, Sergio Busquets dispossessed midfielder Bruno to unleash Neymar in front of goal, and the Brazilian made no mistake in punishing the error, per Corrigan:

Since moving to Spain in 2013, Neymar has particularly enjoyed his outings against the Yellow Submarine, as Sky Sports suggested:

Lionel Messi's absence has hardly been missed at the Camp Nou of late, largely thanks to Neymar and Suarez's budding partnership, and Munir El-Haddadi also had a hand in filling the Messi-shaped void.

Jaume Costa miscued his challenge on the youngster in the area after being lured by Munir's dribbling to give away a penalty that would prove to be the nail in Villarreal's coffin. Neymar usually takes responsibility from the spot, but Spanish football writer Rafael Hernandez noted Barca's encouraging team ethic as Suarez doubled their lead:

It seemed almost strange that both forwards were on the scoresheet without having actually contributed to one another's goals, but that was corrected after Neymar closed the game out with a sensational strike in the 85th minute.

The Brazil international controlled Suarez's pass before flicking over left-back Costa and flashing a first-time volley past Alphonse Areola, who was rooted to the spot. Bleacher Report UK provided footage of the golazo:

Sunday's victory means Barcelona sit at the top of the table for the first time since Week 4, and they will pray Sevilla are capable of stealing a result from Real in their bid to put some distance between them and their rivals.

Less than two weeks remain until they travel to the Santiago Bernabeu on November 21, hoping Neymar and Suarez's excelling form will be enough to seal a win in their biggest fixture of the season so far.

On the other hand, Villarreal's dipping form is a concern for Marcelino, and his side have now won just one of their last five La Liga fixtures after briefly looking capable of a challenge on the top spots. 

Post-Match Reaction

Emilio Morenatti/Associated Press

Another commanding victory for the Blaugrana begs the question of just how far they can improve when Messi finally makes his long-awaited return to their lineup.

For now, though, Enrique is fortunate to have two very particular forwards filling the void, but he told Spanish newspaper Sport his side's success is about more than Neymar and Suarez alone:

One can't help but agree this Barcelona team has become more united than ever amid a transfer embargo and a string of debilitating injuries, with the new year promising bigger and better things to come.