Beginning the evening a point clear of the drop zone, Sevilla may have been hoping their UEFA Champions League-bound opponents would take their foot off the gas, but those hopes were dashed 13 minutes in when Georges Mikautadze squared to Gerard Moreno, who took a touch to get clear of two defenders before rolling the ball into the bottom corner.
Things got worse for the visitors in the 20th minute, when Nicolas Pepe threaded the ball through to Alberto Moleiro at the byline, drawing out goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos before clipping the ball to the back post for Mikautadze to tap home.
Villarreal had enough possession to kill the game off before the break, but the goals still represented their only shots by the time they let Sevilla back in the game in the 36th minute. Lucien Agoume’s diagonal pass was taken in his stride perfectly by Oso, who skipped away from challenges before scoring just his second of the season in style.
That strike gave Los Nervionenses confidence, and though the chance to level before half-time looked to have gone when Neal Maupay’s effort was blocked, they kept pushing and were rewarded in added time, when Rubén Vargas cut César Azpilicueta’s pass back for Kike Salas to meet with a sweet half-volley.
Having completed the comeback, Luis García’s side were the ones looking the more likely to find the all-important fifth goal early in the second half, but it wasn’t until just after the hour mark that they tested Arnau Tenas, who made a comfortable save from Maupay’s curling strike.
Their endeavour almost came undone soon after when Moleiro won the ball back at the edge of the Sevilla box, but Vlachodimos reacted well to his low strike through the crowd.
With 18 minutes to play, the home crowd were stunned as the visitors completed the turnaround. Alexis Sanchez broke up the play within seconds of coming on, before Juanlu Sanchez and Djibril Sow worked the ball across the area to Akor Adams, who rifled it past Tenas at the near post.
El Submarino Amarillo’s attack only emerged in the final minutes, but Jose Angel Carmona’s header off the line thwarted Pau Navarro’s powerful deflected strike.
That ensured Sevilla ended a run of four away defeats in succession, while Villarreal dropped points at home against a team starting the round outside the top five for the first time this season.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Oso (Sevilla)
