On 27 April, one of the matches of the 31st round of the Spanish football championship took place. Villarreal (Spain) and Espanyol (Spain) met.
Spain Championship, round 31
Villarreal (Spain ) - Espanyol (Spain) - 4:2 (0:1)
Goals: Etienne Capue (53), Parejo (63), N. Jackson (80), Etienne Capue (90 +2) - Javi Puado (45), Joselu (73).
Warnings: N. Jackson (16), Calero (40), Javi Puado (58), Pino (58), C. Montes (62), Gil (77)
Villarreal and Espanyol meet in a thrilling La Liga match at the Estadio de la Cerámica stadium. While Espanyol took the lead with a goal in the first half, Villarreal retaliated in the second half and eventually won the match 4-2. The first half was marked by several yellow cards: N. Jackson received one for Villarreal in the 16th minute and F. Calero for Espanyol in the 40th minute. The only goal of the first half came at half-time when J. Puado put Espanyol ahead. In the second half, Villarreal took the lead and E. Capue scored after just eight minutes, tying the score. A lot happened in the second half: I. Pino and J. Puado received yellow cards for Villarreal and Espanyol, respectively, and C. Montes for Espanyol.
Villarreal had a chance to take the lead in the 63rd minute with a penalty kick, but D. Parejo missed. However, Parejo quickly made amends, scoring just moments later to put Villarreal ahead. Espanyol fought back and Joselu scored in the 73rd minute to level the score again. However, Villarreal responded with a goal from N. Jackson in the 80th minute to take the lead. In the final minutes of the game, there were several substitutions, and in the 90th minute, Villarreal was joined by A. Moreno, who scored just moments later and sealed the victory. Espanyol's Expocito was red-carded in the final minute of the game. Overall, it was an exciting match with plenty of action from both teams. Villarreal's onslaught in the second half and numerous goals proved too much for Espanyol and Villarreal got a deserved victory.
The next round of fixtures will see Villarreal v Celta and Espanyol v Getafe.
| Villarreal | Espanyol | |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | Shots on goal | 4 |
| 31 | Shots | 13 |
| 8 | Blocked kicks | 5 |
| 25 | Kicks from the penalty area | 6 |
| 6 | Kicks from behind the penalty box | 7 |
| 14 | Offences | 10 |
| 9 | Corner | 2 |
| 2 | Offsides | 0 |
| 65% | Possession of the ball | 35% |
| 2 | Yellow cards | 4 |
| 0 | Red cards | 1 |
| 2 | Safeties by goalkeeper | 10 |
| 485 | Total assists | 254 |
| 433 | Exact transmissions | 201 |
| 89% | Accuracy of transmissions | 79% |