Villarreal's Champions League hopes take a hit as Valladolid claim vital win
El Submarino Amarillo headed into this fixture seeking a fourth consecutive league victory to close the gap between themselves and the UEFA Champions League places. At the other end of the table, Valladolid were aiming to pick up their first win on the road since defeating Real Sociedad over two months ago in their battle for survival. Catching everybody by surprise, it was the struggling away side who took an early lead inside two minutes through Selim Amallah, who tucked away his second goal of the campaign following an excellent team move.
A VAR review cut short Villarreal’s goal celebrations in the 15th minute, with Samuel Chukwueze having his equaliser disallowed for offside. The hosts, who overcame Real Madrid last time out at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, continued to push for a leveller, but Valladolid stunned Quique Setién’s side for a second time as Morocco international Jawad El Yamiq gave the visitors a two-goal cushion in the 35th minute, after finding the net following a sublime solo effort.
Although two goals down at the interval, Villarreal had the lion’s share of the possession in the first half, and they came out of the tunnel for the second period looking to make their dominance count. Nevertheless, Setién’s men initially struggled to find a breakthrough, despite registering 74% of the possession by the 70th minute.
Substitute Étienne Capoue eventually pulled a goal back for the home side with a left-footed hit from the edge of the area, before the referee marched over to the touchline to brandish a red card to Paulo Pezzolano. Villarreal pushed forward as they went in search of a late equaliser, but Valladolid held on, even through eight minutes of stoppage time, to record their first H2H victory over El Submarino Amarillo since September 2018.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Selim Amallah (Real Valladolid)
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