Villarreal secured their third victory in four LaLiga matches with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Valencia in the Derbi de la Comunitat, handing Los Che their third defeat in six league outings.
The match got off to a fiery start as Villarreal were controversially denied a penalty in the opening minute when Nicolas Pepe was stepped on, and the same player soon suffered a cut above his eye within the first five minutes.
The early stages were physical and combative but lacked clear attacking intent, with Pape Gueye’s free-kick being the only shot on target in the first 20 minutes.
On the 22nd minute, Valencia striker Umar Sadiq was brought down by Villarreal goalkeeper Luiz Junior, earning Los Che a penalty.
Largie Ramazani calmly converted, netting his second goal in as many games to give Valencia the lead.
The intensity of the match was reflected when a member of Villarreal’s backroom staff was shown a red card following another penalty controversy involving Pepe.
However, the focus quickly shifted back to the pitch as Valencia failed to clear a cross, allowing Santi Comesana to tap home the equaliser in the 30th minute.
The decisive moment came in stoppage time of the first half when Ramazani handled Pepe’s cross in the box. Gueye stepped up and calmly slotted a left-footed penalty to give Villarreal the lead before the break.
The second half began with more attacking promise. Sergi Cardona had a low drive well-positioned but squandered the opportunity by sending it wide.
Despite Valencia controlling possession, the congested midfield kept chances limited for both sides.
With around 20 minutes remaining, both teams made double substitutions, and the game descended into a scrappy, end-to-end affair.
Arnaut Danjuma came close to levelling for Valencia in the 78th minute but was denied by Luiz Junior.
Villarreal held firm to extend their unbeaten streak against Valencia in LaLiga to five matches (W3, D2), while also maintaining a nine-match unbeaten record at home in the fixture (W7, D2), their longest run against Los Che in the Spanish top flight.
