Villarreal vs Espanyol

Match summary

Espanyol took a 1-0 win at Villarreal. It was goalless at half-time.

Leandro Cabrera put Espanyol ahead in the 60th minute, set up by Bryan Zaragoza.

There was little between the sides on chances: Villarreal created 0.63 expected goals (xG) from 14 shots, Espanyol 0.52 from 5.

Villarreal dominated the territorial battle during their La Liga matchday 11 fixture against Espanyol, registering 63 percent possession and 123 attacks compared to their opponents 77. The home side also recorded 14 shots, of which 4 were on target and 4 were blocked, alongside 7 corners and 564 passes completed at an 89 percent accuracy rate. Espanyol managed 5 shots with 3 on target, 3 corners, and 326 completed passes at 81 percent accuracy from 37 percent possession. Both teams were disciplined equally regarding cards, accumulating 3 yellow cards each, while Villarreal committed 15 fouls to Espanyol 13.

The match remained goalless at half-time following a first half that featured an early substitution for Villarreal when Nicolas Pépé replaced the injured Gerard Moreno in the 18th minute, alongside yellow cards for Espanyol players Rafel Bauzà in the 21st minute and Roger Hinojo in the 41st minute. Following a VAR review in the 50th minute, Villarreal collected yellow cards through Sergi Cardona in the 53rd minute and Santi Comesaña in the 56th minute. Espanyol broke the deadlock in the 60th minute when Leandro Cabrera scored with a left-footed shot. Further cautions were issued to Espanyol player Bryan Zaragoza in the 75th minute and Villarreal player Carlos Macià in the 90+1st minute before the match concluded at 0-1.