Villarreal climbs up, Valencia slips towards the relegation zone
In the Liga derby between Villarreal and Valencia, Georges Mikautadze was decisive again, scoring in the 90+6' to complete Villarreal's comeback and give the yellow‑and‑blues the three points, while the Valencians remain second‑last in the table. The win takes the Spanish club to eighth place in the Liga.
Comeback at the extremes
The final result was 1-2 for Villarreal. Pepelu opened the scoring in the 38' with a penalty for Valencia, Alex Freeman equalised in the 69' for the visitors, and Mikautadze sealed it in the 90+6' with the winning goal. Villarreal played with ten men from the 79' after the dismissal of Papa Gueye.
Mikautadze, who came on at the 66', has scored five goals this season, counting those in the Liga and the Champions. His decisive goal was the third consecutive derby in which he scores against Valencia. The Georgian's contribution makes Villarreal more dangerous ahead of the upcoming European fixtures.
Papa Gueye was booked in the 79' and the VAR turned the card into a dismissal for violent conduct. Ten minutes later, Harvey Elliott received a yellow card, leaving Valencia with ten men. Stole Dimitrievski saved a shot from Tajon Buchanan, preventing another opponent's goal.
Table comparison
Villarreal has risen to eighth place with 12 points from 10 games, while Valencia has dropped to 19th place with 6 points from 10 games. Above them, Barcelona leads with 27 points from 9 games and Atletico Madrid follows with 22 points. Below, Malaga occupies the last place with 5 points from 10 games.
The yellow‑and‑blue club has recorded 25 wins against Valencia, and the two teams have logged 14 draws in the history of the rivalry. Villarreal started the season with a 3-3-4 record, while Valencia records 1-3-6. Malaga is the only team with a worse start, 0-5-5.
Future prospects
Villarreal will face CE Manacor in the Copa del Rey on Tuesday, then return to the Liga against Espanyol on Friday. Next week sees Rayo Vallecano against Elche (0-3) and Racing Santander against Espanyol (2-1), as well as Alavés‑Malaga (1-1) and other scheduled matches. In Europe, the Spanish club will play against Paris Saint‑Germain in the next Champions round.
Valencia, however, remains in the relegation zone with six points, two behind Espanyol's third place and three behind Rayo Vallecano, which has one game fewer. Coach Javier Aguirre has yet to secure a win in his first three assignments. The team will need to reverse the trend to avoid the drop.