The Derbi de la Comunitat lacked the desired intensity for the majority of the first period until the closing stages of the half.
Valencia threatened to break the deadlock around the 40-minute mark, with Luis Rioja forcing Luiz Junior into his first meaningful save of the contest, shortly before Javi Guerra swept a shot just wide of the goalkeeper’s left post.
Just minutes later, however, Gerard Moreno was presented with a golden opportunity to give the visitors the lead from the penalty spot, after Jose Copete was penalised for a clumsy challenge following a VAR review. The Villarreal captain stuttered and waited for Julen Agirrezabala to commit to his dive before he calmly rolled the ball in the opposite direction to score his first La Liga goal since January.
Buoyed by their strong finish to the half, the Yellow Submarine consolidated their lead through Santi Comesana just before the hour mark. The midfielder was in the right place to guide home a simple finish after Julen Agirrezabala parried Georges Mikautadze’s near-post shot back into the danger zone.
With Valencia on the ropes, Mikautadze went close to adding his own name to the scoresheet when he forced Agirrezabala into a desperate stop.
Carlos Corberan’s charges eventually regained some form of composure and showed signs of promise when former Villarreal attacker Arnaut Danjuma cleverly worked the space to take aim at goal, only to see Luiz Junior pounce to his right to protect his team’s two-goal advantage.
Los Che ultimately failed to build upon that effort, as they slumped to a third defeat in four games, leaving them just two points clear of the drop zone. While questions will be asked of Corberán, former Valencia boss Marcelino will be delighted to see his team in third spot.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Gerard Moreno (Villarreal)
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