Marcelino Garcia Toral lashes out as Villarreal fall to Barcelona

Barcelona took the lead in the 12th minute when Raphinha converted a penalty, before Lamine Yamal sealed the points with a second goal in the 63rd minute. Villarreal spent much of the match with ten men after Renato Veiga was sent off in the first half, but Marcelino insisted his side remained competitive.

"We were very good, huge," Marcelino said. "To beat Barcelona you have to take your chances. Today we created clearer chances than last year. The penalty came from a second play, and I do not understand the difference between that decision and the action where Joan Garcia gets up and shoots Rafa Marin.

"Our chances were clearer, beyond the penalty and the crossbar from Raphinha. Barcelona's most decisive player was their goalkeeper."

The Villarreal manager was particularly unhappy that his side were not awarded a penalty of their own, claiming the incident involving Rafa Marin should have been reviewed more seriously.

"Rafa's action is a penalty," Marcelino said. "Our player goes for the ball, gets up and knocks him down. I respect other opinions, but for me it is a penalty. The more I see it, the more it looks like a penalty."

Marcelino also reflected on the red card shown to Renato Veiga for a challenge on Lamine Yamal, admitting it changed the course of the match.

"We made an avoidable mistake, which was the red card," Marcelino said. "I asked the referee what would happen if he showed a yellow card and then went to VAR. He told me he had seen it very clearly. For me it was excess of force, but not a sending-off. Watching another angle, maybe it can be understood. With the game we were watching, leaving a team with ten players had a big impact."

Despite the defeat, Marcelino said Villarreal would take positives from their performance as they look to respond in their next La Liga fixture when they travel to Elche on January 3.

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