By Barcelona's joy at an impressive win in the Champions League was tempered by an injury to star midfielder Rodri.
Spain's World Cup-winning captain was forced off with a suspected calf injury at halftime of Tuesday's 3-0 victory over Aston Villa, which was earned by an early goal from Lamine Yamal and Raphinha's second-half double.
The injury to Rodri will be a concern for his team, which visits Atletico Madrid on Sunday in a top-of-the-table match in La Liga. Barcelona leads by two points from Atleti.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said Rodri “felt some muscular pain.”
"It’ll need to wait until Wednesday before we examine that and find out more,” Flick added.
It was otherwise a positive night for Barcelona at Camp Nou in front of Prince William, the heir to the British throne and Villa's most famous fan.
Yamal got his 14th Champions League goal — more than anyone else under the age of 20 — when he intercepted a stray pass from Joao Gomes following a goal kick, cut inside and bent a finish into the bottom corner in the seventh minute.
Rodri coming off, to be replaced by Marc Bernal, didn't hold back Barca, with Raphinha scuffing a shot into the corner in the 52nd and then meeting an impudent, outside-of-the-foot cross by Joao Cancelo with a first-time finish in the 64th.
It marked a miserable return to the Camp Nou for Villa coach Unai Emery, who was last at the stadium when in charge of a Paris Saint-Germain team that arrived with a 4-0 lead from the first leg in the round of 16 in 2017. Barcelona won the second leg 6-1 in a recovery now widely known as “La Remontada” (The Comeback).
Villa dropped points for the first time this campaign, after opening with three straight wins.
“We need to learn, draw conclusions, and figure out how to compete better,” Emery said. "We have to be capable of staying competitive against the favorites, like Barca.”
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https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/rodri-injury-mars-easy-win-231450273.html
