Villarreal achieved an important victory against Levante 3-1 at the Estadio de La Cerámica, a triumph that reinforces its recovery after the success obtained in Malaga. The match, played in front of 18,671 spectators, was key for Íñigo Pérez’s team, which remains on the path to promotion in the standings. The grogueta team consolidated its position in ninth place with eight points, while Levante, after its second consecutive defeat, is in seventeenth place with only five points. The victory, the second consecutive triumph, confirms the improvement in the team’s performance after the good result in southern Spain.
The match began with a clear advantage for Villarreal, which pressed from the first minutes and generated multiple goal-scoring opportunities. Despite its offensive dominance, the team did not manage to capitalize in the first half. Levante, on the other hand, opted for a low block, prioritizing defense and looking for counterattacks. This strategy did not prevent Villarreal from finding the opening goal in the 40th minute, after a great collective play between Alberto Moleiro and Ayoze Pérez, which culminated in the goal of the forward.
The equalizer came shortly after, when Ivan Romero took advantage of a cross from Toljan to finish acrobatically and put the score 1-1. The second half showed a change of pace, with Villarreal regaining control of the match. A mistake in the ball’s exit allowed Moleiro to assist Ilias Akhomach, who returned the pass for the Canary Islander to score 2-1. Although Levante tried to react with attempts at goal, including a shot from Toljan that hit the post and a shot from Brugué that went high, it did not manage to reverse the score.
In the last minutes, Villarreal sealed the match after another defensive error from Levante. Moleiro, once again, stood out by assisting Georges Mikautadze, who closed the match with a low shot in front of goalkeeper Matt Ryan. The victory consolidated the starting lineup of Íñigo Pérez’s team, which kept the eleven after the victory in Málaga, with the only change due to injury: Pape Gueye came on instead of Santi Comesaña. For his part, Luís Castro also opted for the starting eleven, without making rotations after the match against Barça.
The match was refereed by Mateo Busquets, who showed yellow cards to Mandi and coach Luís Castro of Levante, and to Buchanan of Villarreal. The victory not only brings points, but also confidence to the team, which continues with the strategy of not changing what works. With this result, Villarreal remains in a favorable position in the standings, while Levante will have to react urgently if it wants to get out of the relegation zone.