LaLiga: Villarreal Snatch Last-Gasp Derby Win to Deepen Valencia Misery
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| Valencia Vs Villarreal |
Despite Pape Gueye's late red card, Villarreal earn a 2-1 away win over Valencia with a 96th-minute winner from Georges Mikautadze, extending Valencia's winless run.
10-Man Villarreal stun Valencia with 96th-minute Mikautadze winner...
Valencia's miserable start to the season continued as local rivals Villarreal came from behind to snatch a 2-1 victory, leaving Los Che now seven home games without a win (D3, L4).
As always, the Derbi de la Comunitat began at a frantic tempo, with Villarreal dominating possession with 73.9% but managing only an off-target effort from Pape Gueye in the opening 10 minutes.
Valencia were forced into an early change when David Otorbi was stretchered off, before Stole Dimitrievski produced a magnificent one-handed save low to his left to deny Tajon Buchanan the opener for the visitors.
It was Villarreal who continued to press for the breakthrough, with the hosts offering nothing going forward.
Eight shots to Valencia's none after more than half an hour told its own story, before a rare foray forward from Los Che saw Dani Raba brought down in the box by Renato Veiga, with a penalty awarded after a lengthy VAR review.
With their first attempt on or off target, Pepelu blasted the spot-kick high into the net beyond the reach of Peter Gulacsi.
The closing minutes of the first half were littered with fouls as the game completely lost its flow.
Momentum was quickly restored after the interval, as the visitors seized control once more. They were soon pegged back, however, when Cesar Tarrega swept home on 55 minutes for Valencia, only for the effort to be ruled out for offside.
The contest then became end-to-end, with two promising efforts from Tajon Buchanan either side of an Arnaut Danjuma strike that stung Peter Gulacsi's palms.
The Yellow Submarine's pressure eventually told, and with 20 minutes remaining Alex Freeman powerfully headed home Sergi Cardona's cross through a crowd of bodies.
With just over 10 minutes remaining, Gueye was dismissed for a deliberate elbow, but to their credit, Villarreal continued to battle tirelessly.
And their persistence paid off in the sixth minute of seven added on, when Georges Mikautadze broke clear of the Valencia defence and left Dimitrievski helpless as he slotted home with his left foot to seal Villarreal's second competitive away win of the campaign.
FT: #ValenciaVillarreal 1-2 LATE DRAMA! VILLARREAL STEAL IT! 💛🤯 #LALIGAEASPORTS https://t.co/ziBZ3z7sdL
— LALIGA English (@LaLigaEN) October 24, 2026
Valencia, meanwhile, will be disappointed to have missed out on a first head-to-head victory in six attempts (D2, L4).
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