Villarreal's late pair came after far more ball and far better chances

Villarreal beat Getafe 2-0 at home with two goals in the final ten minutes, and the numbers say they had earned them.

Neither side scored for 79 minutes at the Estadio de la Cerámica. Then Tajon Buchanan struck in the 80th minute, Carlos Romero added a second in the 90th, and a goalless game became a two-goal win. Both goals came from Villarreal moves that Nicolas Pépé and Ayoze Pérez helped finish, and both arrived after a long stretch in which the home side had been clearly the more threatening.

Villarreal had 73% of the ball, which is a long way above their usual share at home of 60.5%. Getafe were left with 27%, against an away average of 37.8%. Villarreal also completed 477 of their 552 passes, so this was not simply a matter of hogging possession without purpose. They moved the ball and kept it, and Getafe spent much of the afternoon chasing it.

Possession alone does not tell us who made the better chances, so the next figure matters more. Expected goals, or xG, is a score given to each shot based on how likely it was to become a goal, and Villarreal's total for this match was 1.86. That is well above their home average of 1.47. Getafe finished on 0.68, almost exactly their away average of 0.70. Villarreal fired 21 shots, 12 of them from inside the box, against a home norm of 16.

Getafe's goalkeeper David Soria was the busiest player on the pitch, making five saves and earning a rating of 7.3. Villarreal managed seven shots on target, and Getafe managed just one. Villarreal's own defence had a quiet time as well: the chances Getafe created came to 0.68 xG, which is noticeably lower than the 0.88 they normally concede at home. Getafe had only nine shots, not far from their usual 10.3, so they were not short of attempts, just short of quality ones.

Buchanan was the clearest example of Villarreal's cutting edge, scoring with one of his four shots and finishing with a rating of 7.7. Pérez took the most credit for the build-up, producing three key passes and an assist, while D. Dakonam made eight interventions for Getafe to keep the visitors in the game for as long as they were. Getafe also had a yellow card for Mario Martín Rielves in the 32nd minute, and he was replaced at half-time.

In the table, Villarreal are 11th with 12 points from 11 matches, with three wins, three draws and five defeats. Getafe are 15th, also on 12 points, but their goal difference is far worse, with eight scored against 16 conceded on their travels. Villarreal scored 15 and conceded 15 at home this season, so the result pushes them to a more even record than before. Getafe remain in the lower half of the table, and their away form is the main reason.

Player of the matchCarlos Romero1 goal7.8

Logan Costa1 chance created7.8

T. Buchanan1 goal7.7

Ayoze Pérez1 assist7.6