Celta Vigo Secures Vital Victory Against 10-Man Villarreal to Remain in European Contention

RC Celta de Vigo secured a crucial victory in their quest for European competition, thrashing 10-man Villarreal 3-0 in LaLiga and handing El Submarino Amarillo only their third defeat in 13 outings (W6, D4).

After suffering two consecutive league losses, Celta started brightly, coming close to scoring through Marcos Alonso and Fer López in the opening minutes.

The home side’s spirits soared when Eric Bailly was shown a straight red card for a reckless tackle on Alfonso González, who was racing towards goal.

Villarreal couldn’t withstand the pressure of being a man down for long, with the breakthrough arriving just before half-time as Fran Beltrán’s low cross found the unmarked López, who netted his second goal of the season.

Os Celestes continued to dominate after the interval, doubling their advantage in the 53rd minute in a rather chaotic sequence.

Substitute Ilaix Moriba, who came on at half-time, rattled the post before the ball pinballed around the area, eventually leading to Borja Iglesias calmly slotting in the second goal of the match.

With an hour played, Villarreal struggled to make their presence felt in the match, and just about sealed the points when veteran Iago Aspas nearly scored, firing a swift attempt that had Luiz Júnior scrambling.

A commanding performance looked set to be capped off by Moriba’s powerful long-range strike, but after it was saved, he earned a penalty as he fell after a challenge from Pape Gueye.

Aspas stepped up to take the penalty, successfully converting it to round off an impressive evening for the home side.

This result marks just Villarreal’s third away defeat in 14 encounters, but they remain in fifth place, occupying the final UEFA Champions League spot, just one point ahead of Real Betis Balompié with six matches left.

Celta’s continued success at home means they have now amassed 33 points out of a possible 46 at Estadio de Balaídos this season (W10, D3, L4), placing them seventh in the league and providing a genuine chance for European qualification.