DPA/Madrid

The win left Barca three points clear of Atletico Madrid atop La Liga and five above third-placed Real Madrid, who earlier Saturday could only manage a 2-2 draw at lowly Osasuna.

In the absence of the injured Lionel Messi, Neymar has enjoyed more freedom in attack and has established himself as the new idol of the Camp Nou.

He followed on from his hat-trick in Wednesday’s 6-1 slaughter of Celtic with another flamboyant display.

“We didn’t play brilliantly today but we did take our chances well,” said Neymar. “They (Villarreal) are a good team, they made things very difficult for us from start to finish.”

Meanwhile, Barca coach Gerardo Martino said: “This is the game that has most pleased me since I arrived here. I liked the team’s attitude a lot.

“This win will really strengthen the team. It’s a shame that the Christmas break is coming up because we are playing really well now.”

Neymar calmly gave Barca the lead from the penalty spot on the half hour after a rather harsh handball decision against Villarreal’s Mario Gaspar.

Defender Mateo Musacchio levelled for Villarreal by heading in a corner in the 49th minute, only for Neymar to restore Barca’s lead 21 minutes from time after Alexis Sanchez skilfully controlled a free-kick from Cesc Fabregas.

Barca had few problems in holding out for what was their 23rd consecutive home win in La Liga. The Catalans have 43 points from 16 games, three more than Atletico, who will receive Valencia Sunday.

Barca are five ahead of deadly rivals Real Madrid, who battled out a 2-2 draw at Osasuna, after Oriol Riera had given the hosts a two-goal lead.

Real managed to get a point thanks to goals from Isco and Pepe in a game in which they had had defender Sergio Ramos sent off and Osasuna had Fernando Silva ejected later - but Real then complained about bad refereeing.

“We started the game badly and we reacted late. This draw is like a defeat for us,” Real left back Marcelo said.

“I don’t like to talk about referees because some days they help you and other days they don’t.”

Osasuna scorer Riera spoke of “a good result for us. We could have beaten them, but they also had their chances to win at the end.”

Betis crushed 5-1

Meanwhile, Real Sociedad crushed Betis 5-1 at home with Imanol Agirretxe scoring twice.

Jon Ansotegui, Antoine Griezmann and Xabi Prieto pitched in with a goal each, while Jorge Molina scored for Betis in the 19th minute.

Lowly Almeria failed to convert a penalty as they were held 0-0 by Espanyol yesterday. Almeria were in the driving seat for most of the match but were kept at bay by Espanyol goalkeeper Kiko Casilla.

The hosts were given a penalty in the 20th minute for a foul by Gabriel Torje on Almeria’s Suso. Verza converted the penalty, only for the referee to order it to be retaken, and had his second spot-kick saved by Casilla.