Gerard Moreno's penalty condemned Real Madrid to their second LaLiga defeat of the season as Villarreal beat the champions 2-1 on Saturday to do coach Quique Setien's former employers Barcelona a favour.

Madrid had hoped to return to the summit ahead of Barca's tough trip to Atletico Madrid on Sunday, but Villarreal were good value for victory during a thriller at Estadio de la Ceramica.

Villarreal created a host of promising openings during an entertaining first half but had to wait until just after the break to make the breakthrough thanks to Yeremy Pino.

Karim Benzema levelled with a spot-kick conceded by Juan Foyth on the hour mark, but the Argentinian then won one at the other end, with Moreno's confident finish ultimately sealing the win.

Villarreal had been the better side right from the start, going close after 28 seconds as Alex Baena sliced over. Francis Coquelin then saw an impudent backheeled finish clip the post following Alberto Moreno's low cross four minutes later.

Villarreal were indebted to Jose Reina just before the break, however, rushing out to deny Vinicius Junior.

The Yellow Submarine capitalised 65 seconds after the restart as Gerard Moreno released Yeremy into the box, his finish finding the net via deflections off Courtois and David Alaba.

Benzema spurned a glorious chance to level when Foyth blocked his goal-bound effort on the line, but the Frenchman made the most of his penalty reprieve after the defender's handball in the build-up was punished following a VAR review.

Villarreal went straight up the other end and won a penalty of their own moments later, though, Foyth seeing his pass handled by Alaba, and Moreno made no mistake.

Madrid's desperation led to Courtois going forward for a late corner and Arnaut Danjuma almost made it 3-1 on the break, though his inability to score into the empty goal did not matter.

While criticising Joan Laporta's management, Ronald Koeman has claimed Barcelona are caught up in their own history as football evolves beyond their identity on the pitch.

The former Barcelona head coach claims Laporta placed unnecessary pressure on him before his dismissal in October last year.

Xavi taking over from the 59-year-old formed part of a narrative that the financially embattled club would return to their roots both on and off the pitch, as part of Laporta's second stint as club president.

In an interview with Esport3, Koeman suggested such a sentiment is ultimately impractical and ignorant of football's evolution, while defending his own tactical choices in charge of the Blaugrana.

"I am in favour of dominating the game," he said. "If you play with three central defenders, you cannot say that it is a defensive system. With this system for three or four months, we played the best games in recent years.

"The clearest example was the [2021 Copa del Rey] final against Athletic. Barcelona lives in the past, from 4-3-3, to Tiki-taka. Football has changed. Now it's faster, more physical.

"You can't live in the past. If you have Xavi, Iniesta... and Messi, who by the way, they took from me. This was a very hard one to take."

Koeman also hinted to the weight lifted off his shoulders after his dismissal, especially within the context of leaving the Netherlands national team to take Barcelona over during a period of significant financial and political upheaval at the club.

Laporta was elected as Barcelona president three months after Koeman's replacement of Quique Setien in 2020.

Set to take over the Netherlands from Louis van Gaal after this year's World Cup, Koeman insists life has become less complicated since leaving, but harbours no regrets about his return to the club he won a Champions League with as a player.

"Leaving was a bit of a liberation," he said. "It was a difficult time for the club, without a president, with Laporta's doubts about the coach.

"You want to be a coach and you know that if you don't win you have problems. I made an effort, I left the national team and if it happened again, I would do it again. I don't regret it.

"As president, you can always have doubts but if you say them to the public, everyone doubts. It was a big mistake on his part."

Eder Sarabia, the assistant to Quique Setien during his Barcelona tenure, has been appointed head coach of the Gerard Pique-owned FC Andorra.

After working under Setien at LaLiga clubs Las Palmas, Real Betis and Barca, Sarabia has taken his first head coaching job with the Segunda B side.

His appointment came just hours after Nacho Castro was relieved of his duties, with Andorra sitting second in Segunda B3 and having won 2-0 against Llagostera on Sunday.

Sarabia has been backed by Pique despite being involved in reports of unrest during Setien's turbulent Barca stint, which ended last August.

His touchline manner during a Clasico against Real Madrid last March reportedly drew the ire of the Barca players, while in June he was involved in further controversy when footage purportedly showing Lionel Messi ignoring his instructions was shared on social media.