Espanyol surprised the fans of the Estadio de la Ceramica with a home victory against Villarreal, 1-0, thanks to a goal scored in the 60th minute by Juan Cabrera, former Crotone defender. The result took the Catalans up three points in the LaLiga table, where they currently find themselves in eleventh place, tied with Villarreal, Espanyol and other clubs such as Racing Santander and Levante.
The match took place on a LaLiga day in which, in addition to this match, other important matches were played: Villarreal against Espanyol, Levante against Atletico Madrid, Rayo Vallecano against Celta Vigo, Betis against Málaga, Barcelona against Alavés, Getafe against Seville, Racing Santander against Real Madrid, Elche against Valencia, Athletic Bilbao against Real Sociedad, Deportivo La Coruña against Osasuna, and Racing Santander against Real Sociedad. The current ranking sees Barcelona in the lead with 27 points, followed by Atletico Madrid with 25 and Real Madrid with 24, while Villarreal, Espanyol and Racing Santander all occupy the same position with 12 points each.
Cabrera's goal was decisive for Espanyol, who maintained a solid defense and resisted until the end of the match. The performance boosted the team's morale and gave a positive boost to their position in the table, where they are now competing for a place in the Europa League. With the victory, Espanyol moves closer to the European qualification zone, while Villarreal must now try to recover the points lost in this match.
The next calendar sees Espanyol face Racing Santander on November 2, while Villarreal will prepare for the match against Osasuna. Both teams will have to look to consolidate their position in the table, with Espanyol aiming to maintain their position in the Europa League and Villarreal looking to improve their position in the table.