Villarreal 0-1 Espanyol: a centre-back's goal beats 62.8% possession
Leandro Cabrera scored the only goal of the game on 60 minutes as Espanyol won 1-0 away at Villarreal, despite the hosts holding 62.8% of possession and seven corners to three.
Villarreal controlled almost two-thirds of the ball, won more than double the corners and still lost 0-1 at home to Espanyol, beaten by a goal from centre-back Leandro Cabrera on 60 minutes, set up by Bryan Zaragoza. It was a result that owed little to the balance of the match on paper.
Villarreal finished with 62.8% of possession and seven corners to Espanyol's three, but managed only four shots on target to the visitors' three and could not break through a team that had lost four of its previous five league games coming in. Cabrera's goal was enough to see out a result that will matter far more to Espanyol's season than Villarreal's.
Match facts
- 60' — Leandro Cabrera (Espanyol), assist Bryan Zaragoza
| Stat | Villarreal | Espanyol |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 62.8% | 37.2% |
| Shots on target | 4 | 3 |
| Pass accuracy | 503/564 (89.2%) | 263/326 (80.7%) |
| Corners | 7 | 3 |
| Fouls committed | 15 | 13 |
| Yellow cards | 3 | 3 |
Cards
- 21' — Rafael Bauza (Espanyol), yellow
- 41' — Roger Hinojo (Espanyol), yellow
- 53' — Sergi Cardona (Villarreal), yellow
- 56' — Santi Comesaña (Villarreal), yellow
- 75' — Bryan Zaragoza (Espanyol), yellow
- 90+1' — Carlos Macià (Villarreal), yellow
Line-ups
Villarreal set up in a 4-4-2: Péter Gulácsi in goal behind Renato Veiga, Pau Navarro, Sergi Cardona and Santiago Mouriño, with Santi Comesaña, Carlos Macià and Alberto Moleiro through midfield supporting Georges Mikautadze and Gerard Moreno up front. Tani Oluwaseyi, Ayoze Pérez, Carlos Romero, Alex Freeman and Nicolas Pépé were all introduced from the bench as the hosts chased an equaliser. Espanyol lined up in a 4-2-3-1 behind Ángel Fortuño, with Leandro Cabrera part of the back four that also went forward for the winning goal. José Ángel López, Pol Lozano, Javier Puado, Gabriel Moscardo and Jan Peries Duran all came on from the bench.
Two sides on different trajectories
Villarreal arrived having won two and lost two of their previous five matches across competitions, a mixed run that included a 3-1 win over Napoli in the Champions League and a 3-4 defeat at Liverpool. Espanyol, by contrast, had lost four of their last five league games and gone five without a win — Saturday's result snapped that run in the most important way for a club fighting to pull away from the bottom of the table.
Where this leaves the table
Villarreal had gone into the round 10th on 12 points from ten games. Espanyol had arrived 17th on 8 points, just above the relegation zone. The win takes Espanyol some way towards closing the gap on the teams above them, while Villarreal, despite the balance of play, come away with nothing to show for a dominant afternoon.
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