Both got underway with perfect 3-0 wins in their respective league openers last weekend, and despite having to play an extra 90 minutes than their opponents in a UEFA Europa Conference League qualifier on Thursday, Villarreal looked the more likely to continue their goalscoring exploits from the outset. Giovani Lo Celso and Étienne Capoue both tested Jan Oblak early on with curling efforts, though both times the Slovenian stopper rose to the occasion, tipping their shots away from danger with a strong left hand.
While they had kicked off as the bookmakers’ outsiders, the Yellow Submarine’s strong start came as no surprise, given the fact they had won their three previous away La Liga trips with 10 goals scored along the way. They eventually had the ball in the back of the net with little over half an hour played, but goalscorer Gerard Moreno was penalised for handball in the build up, rendering his effort void and setting the course for a goalless first half.
Los Colchoneros reacted well to what must have been a robust team talk, and began to turn the tide in their favour after the restart with the introductions of Antoine Griezmann and Rodrigo De Paul. However, the hosts’ wasted attempts were punished as the visitors moved ahead with 17 minutes remaining. The ball was hooked back towards the box following a cleared corner, and Nahuel Molina made a costly error, failing to control the ball and allowing Yéremy Pino to steal into the box and tuck his third goal involvement in three games past Oblak from a tight angle.
It was backs against the wall as Villarreal sought to hold onto all three points, which came a little too close for comfort for Emery’s men. Matheus Cunha came off the bench tasked with rescuing a draw, heading against the crossbar before Yannick Carrasco’s rebound was clawed off the line by Gerónimo Rulli by a matter of millimetres. Molina then saw a bad night reach rock bottom with a red card in the final seconds, and Villarreal finished Atlético once and for all with the final kick of the game, via Gerard Moreno's drive into the corner of the net from a sumptuous pass inside the box.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Yéremy Pino (Villarreal)
