Villarreal suffer defeat to lowly Espanyol ahead of Champions League match vs. PSG
It was a frustrating Friday night at the office for Villarreal at Estadio de la Cerámica, falling 1-0 to an Espanyol side that started the day in the relegation zone. Villarreal risks falling out of the top 10 with the defeat, sitting 10th on 12 points after 11 matches, with every team below them other than Espanyol still to play this weekend.
Leandro Cabrera's goal on the hour mark, a left-footed finish from the edge of the six-yard box on the second phase of a set piece, was the difference. Tajon Buchanan started and played the first 80 minutes before fellow Canadian Tani Oluwaseyi replaced him off the bench, but neither could find the missing goal for the Yellow Submarine.
Buchanan's four shots led the match, but three were blocked and the other didn't test the goalkeeper. 🇪🇸🔵⚪️ ESPANYOL SE ESTÁ LLEVANDO LA VICTORIA DE LA CERÁMICA 👀 Centro preciso de Bryan Zaragoza para el gol de Leandro Cabrera 🇺🇾 Villarreal 0-1 Espanyol de España pic.
Moreno joins Canadian midfielder Nathan Saliba in the trainer's room, along with winger Ilias Akhomach. Midfielder Papa Gueye also missed Saturday's match due to suspension, but will be back next week against Getafe.
Villarreal couldn't continue their recent upturn in form. They were unbeaten in two league matches since the 1-0 defeat at Real Madrid following the international break, following up a scoreless draw against Elche with a 2-1 win at Valencia in the Derbi de la Comunitat last Saturday.
Midweek that roll continued with anemphatic 5-0 Copa del Rey win over fifth-tier CD Manacor. Tani Oluwaseyi has been in fine form, starting and scoring in that cup win as well as coming off the bench toscore against Liverpool at Anfield in Champions League action.
Espanyol limped into the Friday fixture winless in six matches across all competitions - five in the league. The sixth was a humbling Copa del Rey upset at fourth-tier side Sestao, losing 4-3 after extra time.
The club responded by firing coach Manolo Gonzalez; Eder Sarabia was announced as his replacement on Wednesday and now gets his first win on the board. PSG beat Le Havre 5-1 on Friday and the back-to-back Champions League winners will fancy their chances away to Villarreal midweek.
Achraf Hakimi had three goals and two assists in a five-star performance.