Villarreal looked comfortable in the early going and didn’t waste time establishing the tempo and pace of the match, and that dominance quickly translated to clear scoring opportunities. El Submarino Amarillo came close to scoring the opening goal through Yéremy Pino and Álex Baena in the opening 15 minutes, but both attempts were denied by either Paulo Gazzaniga or the post. The game remained intense, and Girona started to find themselves on the pitch, but their lack of ideas was alarming, and the visitors failed to pose any threat near Pepe Reina’s goal.
Things didn’t change drastically in the second half, and even though Villarreal tried to add even more pace and flair to the attack by flowing their attack through both Pino and Samuel Chukwueze, the results didn’t change. El Submarino Amarillo had the best chance of the second half through Chukwueze, but as it happened earlier, the lack of accuracy prevented the Nigeria international from scoring. The final minutes of the contest had all the intensity that lacked in the 90 minutes, as Gerard Moreno could not convert a penalty in the 95th minute while Girona had a goal ruled out due to an offside at the other end shortly after.
The game was not over and Villarreal had a second chance to score from the spot in the 100th minute, but this time, Dani Parejo coolly converted from the spot and lifted Villarreal to victory. Fair or not, the hosts finally were rewarded by the intensity and the attitude of simply wanting it more against a side that looked happy to settle with a draw midway through the match. With the draw, Villarreal extended their undefeated streak to five games (W4, D1), while Girona saw the end of their previous seven-game undefeated run (W3, D4).
Flashscore Man of the Match: Dani Parejo (Villarreal)
