Raphinha and Lamine Yamal showed some love after each other scored during Barcelona's 2-0 victory over 10-man Villarreal on Sunday. Barca's still got a four-point lead over Real Madrid at the top of La Liga. Raphinha won a penalty after a foul and coolly slotted it home in the 12th minute – his seventh league goal this season, and Barca's 50th! Yamal also got his seventh this season, scoring from close range in the 63rd after Frenkie de Jong set him up after a goalmouth scramble.

That's seven straight wins for Hansi Flick's team.

Barcelona was playing without Andreas Christensen, who is out with a torn ACL from Saturday's training.

Villarreal's Renato Veiga got a red card late in the first half for a bad tackle on Yamal, who needed a bit of treatment.

Because Villarreal lost, Atletico Madrid was able to snag third place after they beat Girona 3-0, even though they've played two more games.

Koke put Atletico ahead early with a sweet half-volley in the 13th minute.

Atletico's goalie, Jan Oblak, made an unreal save to stop Axel Witsel's shot, reaching back to claw it off the line.

Atletico went up 2-0 in the 38th when Conor Gallagher's shot from about 20 meters went in off a deflection.

Atletico's fans gave Thomas Lemar a nice welcome when he subbed in for Girona in the second half. He is currently on loan at Girona from Atletico.

Gallagher, who came on earlier for Nico Gonzalez, was subbed out in the 77th minute.

Antoine Griezmann finished things off with a goal in stoppage time.

He and Giacomo Raspadori linked up with some quick passes, and Griezmann slotted it home.

Girona is currently 18th in the league.

In other games later on Sunday, Elche played Rayo Vallecano, and Real Betis took on Getafe.

On Saturday, Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrated his 27th birthday with his 59th goal for Real Madrid in 2025, tying Ronaldo’s club record for most goals in a year.

Hansi Flick isn't thrilled that Barcelona's Pedri is injured again. The key player will miss Sunday's big La Liga game against Villarreal. He's been dealing with a left hamstring issue since the Real Madrid game back on October 26. He already sat out five games last month, plus missed the Spain games in November.

Pedri's Hamstring Still Troublesome

After Barcelona lost 2-1 to Real Madrid, they said Pedri tore a muscle in his left thigh. This means he's out for weeks. He looked tired during that El Clásico game.

The club put out a statement saying Pedri has a tear in his left thigh. When he comes back depends on how he recovers.

Now, coach Flick says Pedri won't play against Villarreal because of a new hamstring issue.

Flick Confirms Pedri Is Out

Pedri? "No, he can't play," Flick told reporters. I'm not happy, but it happens. He's hurt, but I think he'll be ready for the next game (Espanyol).

Flick added, We need to care for him and get him treatment. No risks. It's best right now. We need him for Espanyol and the Super Cup. We have other good players, so we'll adjust. He has hamstring problems, and it's too risky to play him. He could play, but it's too risky.

Pedri broke Messi's record before.

Last weekend, during Barcelona's 2-0 win over Osasuna, Pedri broke a record held by Lionel Messi. At 23, he's now the youngest player to play 150 La Liga games for Barcelona. According to Opta, he did it at 23 years and 18 days old, beating Messi's record of 23 years and 121 days, set in 2010.

What's Next for Barcelona?

The team has won their last six La Liga games and is four points ahead of Real Madrid. Even without Pedri, they'll want to win against Villarreal to increase their lead.

The good news is there's a winter break coming up after this weekend. This should give Pedri time to heal and be ready for the Espanyol game on January 3.