Barcelona’s 18-year-old prodigy Lamine Yamal scored the first hat trick of his career as Barcelona thrashed Villarreal 4-1 at Camp Nou on March 1, moving the Catalan side four points clear at the top of La Liga. The win underlined Barcelona’s title credentials and pushed them further ahead in a tight table race.
At 18 years, 230 days, Yamal became the youngest player to record his first La Liga hat trick, according to Opta. His second goal was a moment of individual brilliance — cutting in from the right, beating a defender and curling a high shot into the far corner to leave the goalkeeper with no chance.
“He’s exceptional and he’s here to make people happy,” Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said on Saturday. “We need his goals to give him confidence. He’s very young and he still has to improve, but everyone knows the quality he has. Opponents put two or three players on him and that makes it difficult. Today I’m very happy for him. When he enjoys his football, it’s perfect for him and for us.”
Robert Lewandowski, introduced from the bench, added Barcelona’s fourth goal in stoppage time to complete the 4-1 scoreline and seal a dominant home performance.
The result leaves second-placed Real Madrid with a chance to cut the deficit when they host Getafe on Monday, potentially reducing Barcelona’s lead to a single point. Atletico Madrid also picked up a key result on Saturday when Julian Alvarez scored a late winner at Real Oviedo, a 1-0 victory that moved Atletico into third place level on points with Villarreal.
Other weekend Spanish top-flight action saw Inaki Williams equalize for Athletic Bilbao in a 1-1 draw at Rayo Vallecano, while Real Sociedad beat Mallorca 1-0.
Original Source: https://theshillongtimes.com/2026/03/02/yamal-scores-first-hat-trick-for-barcelona-in-win-over-villarreal/
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Publish Date: 2026-03-02 05:58:00
