Villarreal's winner came in the 90th with ten men each

Villarreal beat Valencia 2-1 at the Mestalla, with Mikautadze's goal in the 90th minute coming after both sides had lost a man.

Villarreal were a man short from the 79th minute, when Pape Gueye was sent off, and Valencia lost Harvey Elliott at 89. For one minute the sides stood level at ten players each. Georges Mikautadze settled the match in the 90th, and Villarreal went home with a 2-1 win from the Mestalla.

The match turned on a penalty. A VAR check at 36 minutes awarded Valencia a spot kick, a free shot from 12 yards after a foul in the box, and José Luis García Vayá scored it at 38 to put them ahead. Valencia's home average is 0.7 goals a game, so one goal was more than they usually manage in front of their own supporters, and it stood until the 69th minute.

Possession is the share of the ball each side had, and Villarreal finished with 62%. That is close to the 60.1% they average away from home, so their share was ordinary for them. Valencia's 38% was well short of their home average of 45.8%, so this was a game in which they had less of the ball than usual.

Villarreal also took 19 shots, more than the 15.9 they average away, but most of those efforts did not trouble the goalkeeper. Valencia had fewer attempts and fewer of them were on target, which tells us the visitors were the side forcing the issue.

Expected goals, or xG, gives each shot a value for how likely it was to go in, so a tap-in counts for far more than a shot from distance. Villarreal's chances added up to 1.21, short of the 1.63 they average away, which means their extra shots were mostly speculative. Valencia's 1.17 was close to their home average of 1.13, so their own chances were ordinary. Yet Valencia conceded the same value of chances that Villarreal created, which is more than the 0.95 they usually allow at home.

Pape Gueye's dismissal mattered because VAR upgraded his caution to a red at 78, and he was sent off a minute later. Alex Freeman had levelled at 69 from a Sergi Cardona assist, and Mikautadze's winner came from Alberto Moleiro's pass. P. Gulácsi made four saves in the Villarreal goal, the most of either goalkeeper, and his work kept the visitors ahead when Valencia pushed.

Valencia sit 19th in the table with six points from nine matches, having scored six goals and conceded 15. Villarreal are 14th on nine points from nine, after scoring 13 and conceding 13. The win moves them three places above the side they just beat.

Player of the matchG. Mikautadze1 goal7.8

A. Freeman1 goal7.2

P. Gulácsi4 saves7.2

Ilias Akhomach2 chances created7.0