As ever, the Derbi de la Comunitat started at a brisk pace, with Villarreal’s 73.9% possession not resulting in anything other than an off-target effort from Pape Gueye in the opening 10 minutes.
Valencia were forced into an early change when David Otorbi had to be carried off on a stretcher, before Stole Dimitrievski’s magnificent one-handed save down low to his left stopped Tajon Buchanan from opening the scoring for the visitors.
It was they who kept pushing for the opener, with the hosts offering nothing in attack.
Eight shots at goal to Valencia’s none with more than half an hour played told its own story, before one foray upfield from Los Che saw Dani Raba tripped in the area by Renato Veiga, resulting in a penalty award after a lengthy VAR check.
With their first effort on or off target, Pepelu smashed the spot-kick high into the net and beyond the reach of Peter Gulacsi.
The final few minutes of the first half were peppered with fouls, as the game completely lost its rhythm.
However, this was soon regained after the break, as the visitors took the initiative again. They were quickly pegged back, however, and Cesar Tarrega swept home on 55’ for Valencia, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.
The match then began to take on an end-to-end feel, with Buchanan’s two decent goalbound efforts sandwiching one from Arnaut Danjuma that stung Gulacsi’s fingers.
The pressure from the Yellow Submarine soon told as, with 20 minutes left, Alex Freeman powerfully headed home Sergi Cardona’s cross through a crowd of players.
With just over 10 minutes to play, Gueye was sent off for a deliberate elbow, but to their credit, Villarreal continued to battle with all their might.
And their efforts bore fruit in the sixth minute of seven added on, when Georges Mikautadze broke clear of the Valencian defence and left Dimitievski helpless as he buried his left-footed effort, sealing Villarreal's second competitive away win this term.
Meanwhile, Valencia will be disappointed not to have landed their first head-to-head win in six attempts (D2, L4).
Flashscore Man of the Match: Alex Freeman (Villarreal)
