Villarreal Soars to the Edge of Champions League Qualification Following Victory Over Leganés

Villarreal took a significant stride toward securing a spot in the UEFA Champions League for the first time in four years after a commanding 3-0 victory over relegation-battling Leganes, solidifying their position within LaLiga’s top five.

The home side began with confidence, as Yeremy Pino found the target within just 40 seconds. However, Leganes quickly found their rhythm and could have taken the lead in the 13th minute when Seydouba Cisse failed to convert a promising opportunity, shooting wide.

Despite holding more possession in the opening stages, Leganes paid the price for their inability to capitalise, as Villarreal executed a well-crafted passing move that ended with Alex Baena setting up Pape Gueye. Gueye’s cutback was met by Alfonso Pedraza, whose attempt was deftly redirected by Ayoze Perez, slipping past Marko Dmitrovic to hand Villarreal the advantage.

With their tails up, Villarreal needed only eight minutes to extend their lead.

Juan Foyth’s sharp pass found Pino in plenty of space, allowing the 22-year-old to break free and then assist Perez, who showed great composure under pressure from Adria Altimira, finishing with finesse to claim his 21st goal of the season across all competitions.

Refusing to settle for two goals, Villarreal pushed for another before half-time, and after squandering a few chances, they finally got their third just before the break.

Baena’s exquisite outside-of-the-foot pass set up Nicolas Pepe, who clinically found the back of the net, putting the match out of reach for the beleaguered visitors.

To their credit, Borja Jimenez’s side kept their spirits up but struggled to generate consistent scoring chances.

Pino missed a great opportunity to add to the scoreline after being set up by Perez’s intelligent square pass.

Even after a quadruple substitution just past the hour mark, Leganes were unable to pose any significant threat to the Villarreal defence, with their best chance coming when Jorge Saenz’s header from a corner hit the crossbar.

Villarreal have now recorded four consecutive league victories for the first time since March of last year, and they will head to league leaders Barcelona on Saturday with newfound confidence.

Meanwhile, Leganes remain in 18th place, now four points from safety following Deportivo Alaves’ 1-0 win over Valencia, but their hopes for survival are bolstered by the fact that their next two fixtures are against teams below them in the standings.