Barcelona throw away two goal lead against Villareal

Barcelona showed that they are humans after all as they threw away a two-goal lead at Villareal. 

Barcelona took the lead through Ivan Rakitic after he fired a low shot through a sea of defenders after pouncing on a loose ball from a Lionel Messi free kick. 

Neymar then doubled the leader's advantage by converting a controversial penalty. Sergio Asenjo was adjudged to have brought down Neymar even though replay showed it might have been a harsh decision. 

But fourth-placed Villareal had other ideas as they started their fight back through Cedric Bakambu. A Jeremy Mathieu own goal completed the comeback and restored parity. Barcelona however stayed strong to prevent a loss. 

Barcelona have however stretched their La Liga lead to nine points, despite throwing away a two-goal advantage at Villarreal. Atletico Madrid's surprising loss at Sporting Gijon means it was an important point. 

The Catalan side are 10 points ahead of third-placed Real Madrid, who defeated Sevilla 4-0 on Sunday.