A run of three consecutive league defeats prior to kick-off, as well as elimination from both the Copa Del Rey and UEFA Champions League in recent weeks, has stunted Villarreal’s progress somewhat. Still, they can now concentrate solely on securing a top-four spot in LaLiga, and victory here would have seen them draw level on points with Atletico Madrid in third.
They were the more adventurous side early on, as Tajon Buchanan and Georges Mikautadze fired over the crossbar with attempts inside the opening 10 minutes.
Espanyol entered this game in the midst of an even worse run of form than El Submarino Amarillo, and they barely threatened before the interval; in fact, Tyrhys Dolan’s wild shot was their only attempt of the opening period.
While the hosts were hardly hammering down the Espanyol door, they looked far more likely to find the back of the net and finally did so after the half-hour mark. It was an impressive finish from Mikautadze, too, as he acrobatically volleyed Buchanan’s cushioned header into the top corner on the turn.
Villarreal were two to the good by the time the half-time whistle blew, although they were given a big helping hand for the second goal of the evening when Jose Salinas turned Alberto Moleiro’s low cross into his own net.
Doubling their advantage allowed Villarreal to play with more freedom after the restart, and they soon began putting their opponents to the sword.
Within five minutes, Nicolas Pepe extended the lead further by shifting past Clemens Riedel and burying into the corner, and Moleiro added salt to the Espanyol wound not long after as he cut onto his right in the box and curled beyond Marko Dmitrovic.
That double salvo effectively killed the game as a contest, allowing Villarreal to remain in control for the remainder of the match, even if the visitors did manage a late consolation when Leandro Cabrera headed home from a corner.
The triumph is the home team’s seventh in a row against Espanyol, their longest winning run against any one team in the top tier. Meanwhile, Los Periquitos are now 11 points adrift of the top four and in danger of dropping out of the European spots altogether if they cannot turn things around sooner rather than later.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Alberto Moleiro (Villarreal)