Villarrealvs
DeportivoVillarreal had the ball, the chances, and the crowd. Deportivo had Aubameyang — and in the end, that was enough.
Our pre-match read had Villarreal as 66% favorites on their own turf, and for most of the night the numbers looked right. They finished with 62% possession, 17 shots, and seven corners. Deportivo managed eight shots and one corner. None of that mattered when the final whistle blew at 3-2.
Nicolas Pépé opened the scoring in the 19th minute, finishing off an Ayoze Pérez assist to give Villarreal exactly the kind of start their home crowd wanted. The Yellow Submarine looked comfortable, controlling the tempo and keeping Deportivo pinned deep. But the visitors stayed patient, and just before halftime Luis Cruz equalized — converting a pass from Aubameyang to make it 1-1 going into the break.
The Match Turned in Three Minutes
The second half looked like it was tilting back toward Villarreal. They kept the ball, kept pressing, and the Deportivo goalkeeper was busy. Then the 76th minute happened.
Adama Traoré turned the ball into his own net, and suddenly Deportivo had the lead they had done nothing in the half to deserve. Villarreal's night, which had looked so orderly, started to unravel.
Three minutes later it got worse. Zakaria Eddahchouri, again fed by Aubameyang, made it 3-1. La Cerámica went quiet. Santi Comesaña picked up a yellow card in the 81st minute — frustration written all over it — and Tajon Buchanan followed him into the book in the 87th.
Villarreal did pull one back. Aubameyang himself finished in the 88th to complete a goal and two assists on the night, capping a performance that felt almost unfair given how little of the ball Deportivo actually saw. Cabal, that was the difference between the two sides — not the stats, not the possession, just one player deciding the game on his own terms.
¡Ala gran púchica! — 17 shots, five on target, and Villarreal still lost.
Verdict
Deportivo will take the three points and won't lose sleep over how they got them. The own goal was the kind of fortune you can't plan for, but they had the composure to capitalize immediately when it came. Aubameyang, whatever his age, still looks like the most dangerous player on any pitch he walks onto.
For Villarreal, this one will sting. They did most things right and still left with nothing. The form coming in — LLDDW — suggested a team finding its feet, and a home win looked like the perfect opportunity to build. Instead, they add another loss to that run. The question now is whether this kind of performance, all that possession and pressure with so little to show for it, is a bad night or a pattern.
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