5 – 1
“Georges Mikautadze broke the deadlock to give Villarreal a deserved half-time lead, rewarding a period of sustained pressure from the home side in the closing stages of the first half.”
Pivotal“Carlos Espí levelled for Levante just six minutes into the second half, stunning the home crowd and momentarily threatening to turn this into a far more even contest than the first half had suggested.”
Pivotal“Alberto Moleiro restored Villarreal's lead to make it 2-1, a goal that effectively settled the contest — Levante never looked like responding a second time and the hosts grew in confidence with every passing minute.”
Pivotal“Substitute Tajon Buchanan, on the pitch for just three minutes, capitalised on a tired Levante defence to make it 4-1 and put the result completely beyond doubt.”
“Nicolas Pépé completed a thoroughly humiliating afternoon for Levante, adding a fifth in stoppage time to cap a second-half performance that will live long in the memory for Villarreal supporters.”
Villarreal
Levante
Outstanding performance
Villarreal•MidfielderVillarreal put in a thoroughly dominant second-half display to dismantle Levante 5-1 at home, a result that belied a genuinely competitive opening hour. The Yellow Submarine took the lead through Mikautadze just before half-time, but Levante responded sharply six minutes into the second period via Carlos Espí to momentarily reset the contest. That parity lasted barely eleven minutes before Alberto Moleiro's goal on 62 minutes swung momentum decisively in Villarreal's favour, and from that point Levante offered little resistance. Mikautadze struck again on 68 minutes to make it 3-1, and a flurry of second-half substitutions only accelerated the collapse, with Tajon Buchanan and Nicolás Pépé adding late goals to inflate the scoreline. The statistics tell the full story of Villarreal's control — 53% possession, 20 shots to Levante's 12, and a dangerous attacks count of 53 versus just 26 — but it was their ruthlessness in front of goal that proved the decisive difference, converting four of their eight shots on target while Levante's forwards, despite three efforts on target, managed just the one moment of genuine quality.
How entertaining was this match?
Substitution: Roger Brugue comes on for Pablo Martinez Andres.
Sergi Cardona Bermudez comes on for Alfonso Pedraza Sag.
Sergi Cardona Bermudez comes on for Alfonso Pedraza Sag.
Thomas Partey replaces Daniel Parejo Munoz.
Georges MikautadzeGeorges Mikautadze scores with a left-footed shot.
Georges MikautadzeGeorges Mikautadze takes a shot with his left foot and scores.
Ugo Raghouber comes on for Kervin Arriaga.
Etta Eyong comes on for Kareem Tunde.
Kareem Tunde's right-footed shot is blocked.
Kareem Tunde's left-footed shot is blocked.
Alberto MoleiroAlberto Moleiro takes a shot with his right foot and scores.
Alberto MoleiroGoal! Alberto Moleiro scores, making it 2-1.
Georges Mikautadze takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Georges Mikautadze takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Georges Mikautadze takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Renato De Palma Veiga receives a yellow card.
Carlos EspíCarlos Espi takes a shot with his head and scores a goal.
Carlos EspíGoal! Carlos Espi scores, making it 1-1.
Kareem Tunde is on, and Iván Romero is off.
Yellow card for Daniel Parejo Munoz.
The first half ends with a score of 1-0.
Alfonso Pedraza takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Kervin ArriagaYellow CardKervin Arriaga receives a yellow card.
Carlos Espi takes a shot with his right foot, but it's saved.
Georges Mikautadze takes a right-footed shot, but it is blocked.
Georges MikautadzeGeorges Mikautadze takes a shot with his right foot and scores.
Georges MikautadzeGoal! Georges Mikautadze scores to make it 1-0.
Pablo Martinez Andres takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Iván Romero's header is blocked.
Carlos Alvarez takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Georges Mikautadze takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Georges Mikautadze takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Santi Comesana takes a left-footed shot that hits the post.
Santi Comesana takes a right-footed shot, but it is blocked.
Gerard Moreno Balaguero takes a left-footed shot but misses.
