Having failed to score more than a single goal in each of their last seven LaLiga matches of 2023, it took under half an hour of football in the new year for Valencia to end that run and go two goals to the good.
Jose Gaya took advantage of Villarreal’s lack of pace in defence to latch onto a long ball and pull it back for Roman Yaremchuk to stroke home his first of the campaign at the near post.
The hosts continued to pile on the pressure, and they were good value for a second before Jesus Gil Manzano granted them the perfect opportunity to double the lead, pointing to the spot for Ramon Terrats’ push on Hugo Duro.
Filip Jorgensen was almost single-handedly responsible for keeping Villarreal in it up until that point, but he was powerless to keep out Pepelu from 12 yards.
Meaningful attacks were a rarity for the away side throughout the half, but Eric Bailly almost snatched one back as he fired wide on his return after eight years away from Villarreal. Jose Luis Morales did have the ball in the net for the visitors during first-half stoppage time, but he was flagged offside in what was a 45 minutes to forget for Marcelino’s men.
The Villarreal boss, who managed tonight’s opponents between 2017 and 2019, elected not to make any changes at the break, and there was thus no improvement in his side’s fortunes.
In fact, another spot kick was in the offing for Valencia as Adria Altimira’s handball in the area was judged a deliberate act, and Pepelu stepped up once again to slot into the bottom left corner.
Still, both sides have scored in more games involving Villarreal than any other side in LaLiga, so it was perhaps inevitable that Gerard Moreno would pull one back, placing in from close range.
Pepelu was denied a hat-trick by Jorgensen, who palmed away his direct free kick as Villarreal failed to build on that goal in a disappointing last 20 minutes, missing the chance to win successive LaLiga games for the first time this campaign.
Meanwhile, Ruben Baraja’s side’s performance will be just as welcomed by the Mestalla faithful as the result, giving them optimism of an outside chance of European qualification for just the second time in eight years.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Roman Yaremchuk (Valencia)
