Girona - Osasuna 1-1
Girona and Osasuna could not be separated, as David Lopez cancelled out Kike Barja’s stunning opener in a 1-1 stalemate at the Estadio Municipal de Montilivi, preventing Los Rojillos from climbing into La Liga’s European places.
The visitors were hoping on-loan winger Abde Ezzalzouli would lift his side as he did against Espanyol, where he recorded an assist and the most dribbles of anyone on the field. But it was a disastrous start in that regard, as the Moroccan was forced off by an injury after only nine minutes.
However, his replacement Barja was able to take up the mantle and fire his side into the lead.
After a brief tussle with Yan Couto to win control of Chimy Avila’s header, the substitute composed himself before sending a peach of a shot into the top-right corner from 18 yards.
This put Los Rojillos in prime position, given that each of their last 16 LaLiga victories saw them deal the first blow.
But Girona dramatically pulled back level with the last kick of the half, to show they weren’t just there to make up the numbers.
Lopez got the all-important touch on Valentín Castellanos’ neat header to bundle it in over Sergio Herrera following Aleix Garcia’s free-kick.
With the balance of play now altered, the Blanquivermells took a foothold after the break. They boasted two-thirds of the ball in the opening 20 minutes of the second half, yet could not muster a shot on target no matter how much they tried.
That itself was a telling statistic, amidst the hosts’ worst ever start to a campaign after 10 matches since 2011/12.
That put the onus on Osasuna to settle this tie, but chances continued to go begging. Jon Moncayola was denied by Paulo Gazzaniga from range and Unai Garcia headed wide from a corner in their best chances of the second period.
Ultimately, it just wasn’t the visitors' day, as they fumbled the opportunity to move up into seventh against a relegation-threatened opponent.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Kike Barja (Osasuna)
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Villarreal - Almeria 2-1
Villarreal stretched their unbeaten home run to four league games after beating newly-promoted Almeria 2-1 in dramatic circumstances, for a victory that propels their push for the LaLiga European places.
It promised to be an unpredictable first half, with Villarreal completing six consecutive LaLiga games without a goal in the opening half hour and Almería storming to two 3-0 half-time leads in their last two, albeit on their own turf.
Villarreal started with an authority typical of their home form, despite playing at the Estadi Ciutat de Valencia due to work at their usual Estadio de la Ceramica.
That dominance translated into a bullet header from Samuel Chukwueze early on, but Fernando Pacheco produced arguably one of the saves of the season to keep the hosts from opening the scoring.
Almeria have only picked up one point from a possible 15 on the road so far this campaign, but they were comfortable for the remainder of the first-half as the Yellow Submarine struggled to break the lines, mostly due to the sheer number of bodies the visitors committed defensively.
Not content with simply holding Villarreal, Gonzalo Melero would shock the hesitant hosts just after the half hour mark, securing his first goal for his new club, as the forward struck a composed finish from 15 yards to open the scoring.
With Unai Emery’s words ringing in their ears, the hosts came out with renewed impetus after the interval. The flurry of yellow descending on the visitors’ penalty area will have had Almeria fans wincing, and the incessant pressure eventually told as Baena nodded in an equaliser with nearly an hour gone.
He went from hero to zero however, at least in the eyes of the officials, as by lifting his shirt in tribute to the late Villarreal vice-president Jose Manuel Llaneza, he was subsequently awarded a second yellow card.
Boos rang out around the stadium, and a shell shocked Villarreal reverted to a defensive formation, with Manu Morlanes also seeing red for his off-field protestations, though the hosts were no doubt spurred on by their furious fans who had diverted their anger to motivating their side.
Unsurprisingly, it would be the visitors who had the majority of the late chances but Villarreal displayed some heroic defending, thwarting Almería hitman El Bilal Toure on several occasions.
Jackson would go on to secure a famous Villarreal victory in dramatic circumstances as he found himself all on his own after beating the offside trap.
His calm finish in the 94th minute sent the shocked home supporters into raptures after 30 minutes of near total pressure from a distraught Almeria.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Alex Baena (Villarreal)
