Villarreal hold on to beat Celta Vigo & all but seal spot in next season's Champions League

[p][b]An incredible start to the game saw referee Alejandro Quintero Gonzalez point to the penalty spot inside 30 seconds, after [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/moleiro-alberto/b5g6gWjn/"]Alberto Moleiro[/a] burst into the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/celta-vigo/8pvUZFhf/"]Celta[/a] box and was brought down by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lago-yoel/b5NiMsEe/"]Yoel Lago[/a]. [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/moreno-gerard/UwfDD083/"]Gerard Moreno[/a] slotted the spot-kick into the bottom corner to give [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/villarreal/lUatW5jE/"]Villarreal[/a] a second-minute lead. [/b][/p][p]The visitors' response seemed to gather pace around the 10-minute mark as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/iglesias-borja/0vQciH42/"]Borja Iglesias[/a] was at the heart of a goalmouth scramble at one corner before [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/duran-pablo/b7lKkJBn/"]Pablo Duran[/a] volleyed another at another, but that was the extent of their attacking output.[/p][p][b]The home side made it 2-0 just before the half-hour mark with just their second shot of the match. [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/alfonso-pedraza/KxSmFSum/"]Alfonso Pedraza[/a] chased a long ball down the left wing and cut the ball back to the edge of the area, where Moreno let it run for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pepe-nicolas/j3Hk0qEj/"]Nicolas Pepe[/a], who guided the ball first-time past [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/radu-andrei/4xYjfkEG/"]Ionut Radu[/a].[/b][/p][embed guid="ae09adad-1789-4069-bb4f-775cae71f153" url="https://x.com/LaLiga/status/2048487172299190750" social-type="twitter" /][p]Os Celestes finally forced [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tenas-arnau/CnNoZhXr/"]Arnau Tenas[/a] into action at the other end, but he did well to smother a chance for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/carreira-sergio/rHUdQZPd/"]Sergio Carreira[/a], and then he dived to keep out a cushioned [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/alvarez-hugo/nyLFv8t3/"]Hugo Alvarez[/a] volley following a whipped cross from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mingueza-oscar/YkHSwt2b/"]Oscar Mingueza[/a] just before half-time.[/p][p]Given that only [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/barcelona/SKbpVP5K/"]Barcelona[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/real-madrid/W8mj7MDD/"]Real Madrid[/a] had picked up more away points than Vigo, and 15 of their 21 away goals had come after the break, this game was certainly still on.[/p][p]Alvarez looked to prove just that early on but couldn’t hit the target from a promising position, before Radu kept his side in the contest with a great double save to deny [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mikautadze-georges/QgN9t9CH/"]Georges Mikautadze[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gueye-pape/p6rsDQvN/"]Pape Gueye[/a] just before the hour mark.[/p][p]Having come close to settling the tie, Gueye gave Claudio Giraldez’s side a route back in inside the last 20 minutes with a clumsy challenge on Iglesias inside the box. The striker took the penalty himself, and though it was kept out by Tenas, the referee awarded a retake for encroachment.[/p][p][b]Iglesias gave the goalkeeper no chance at the second attempt, firing it into the top corner. [/b][/p][p]Celta then nearly completed the comeback with 10 minutes left when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/jutgla-ferran/Wbz0q867/"]Ferran Jutgla[/a] headed an [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/aspas-iago/rVBGggAd/"]Iago Aspas[/a] cross against the post.[/p][p]A nervy last few minutes would have been avoided for El Submarino Amarillo had [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gonzalez-alfonso/IXim7pWh/"]Alfon[/a] not caught a volley too sweetly, thumping the ball straight into Radu’s clutches, but Marcelino’s side did enough to go 15 points clear of fifth place with five matches remaining.[/p][p]Celta failed to return to the European places, leaving La Ceramica pointless for a fifth time in a row.[/p][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/alfonso-pedraza/KxSmFSum/"]Alfonso Pedraza[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/villarreal/lUatW5jE/"]Villarreal[/a])[/b][/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/celta-vigo-8pvUZFhf/villarreal-lUatW5jE/?mid=EyEA5cOi"]Catch up on all the match stats here.[/a][/b][/p][image alt="The top of LaLiga" id="4cfafef0-8155-46e0-a4ed-ef2c644a84ab" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="3a07f06e-28dd-47d6-965c-a7d19b2c2175" original-width="1200" original-height="1200" /]