Villarrealvs
LevanteFor about sixty seconds on Sunday night, Levante looked like they might actually make something of this. They didn't. Villarreal won 3-1 at Estadio de la Cerámica, and by the time Georges Mikautadze wrapped it up in the 86th minute, the only real question was how Alberto Moleiro hadn't already won the match ball twice over.
The game turned on a wild two-minute stretch just before the break. Ayoze Pérez put Villarreal ahead in the 41st, finishing off a move that Moleiro had set in motion. Then, almost immediately, Levante leveled through Iván Romero — Jeremy Toljan with the assist — and for a moment, 18,671 fans inside La Cerámica had something to think about at halftime.
They didn't have to think about it long.
Moleiro Takes Over
Nine minutes into the second half, Moleiro stopped assisting and started scoring. Ilias Akhomach found him in the right spot, and Moleiro made it 2-1. Cabal, that was the moment Levante's night effectively ended. They'd mustered one shot on target all game, were sitting at 37.8% possession, and had already used up their one real moment of danger. There was no route back.
Villarreal kept pressing. With 62.2% of the ball and 21 shots to Levante's six, the traffic was almost entirely one-way. Levante goalkeeper was busy — three saves on the night — but the scoreline was never seriously in doubt after the 54th minute.
Moleiro got his second assist of the night in the 86th when Mikautadze finished things off to make it 3-1. Three goals, three Moleiro fingerprints. El patojo tuvo una noche chilera — the kind of performance that makes you wonder where Villarreal have been hiding him.
Bookings
Aïssa Mandi picked up a yellow for Levante as early as the 13th minute, which only complicated the visitors' evening. Tajon Buchanan was booked for the hosts in the 79th, by which point it was academic.
Verdict
Our pre-match read made Villarreal the favorite at 61%, and there was nothing in this game to argue with that. Levante's recent form — one win in their last five — told the story before kickoff, and they offered little to change the narrative once the whistle went.
Villarreal, meanwhile, have now won back-to-back after a rough three-game skid. The win looks convincing on paper and it felt that way too. The question now is whether this is a turning point or just one good night — but if Moleiro keeps playing like this, the Yellow Submarine will be difficult to slow down.
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