Villarreal returned to sixth spot in La Liga with a 4-0 win over Real Sociedad on Sunday.
An own goal from Enaut Zubikarai and clever finish from Denis Cheryshev left the home side 2-0 ahead after 73 minutes, before Moi Gomez added a late double for the Yellow Submarine.
The defeat for Sociedad was their first under new manager David Moyes.
Here, Sports Mole dissects the 90 minutes of action between the two Spanish rivals.
Match statistics
VILLARREAL
Shots: 24
On target: 9
Possession: 56%
Corners: 8
Fouls: 14
SOCIEDAD
Shots: 12
On target: 2
Possession: 44%
Corners: 2
Fouls: 8
Was the result fair?
There is no question that Villarreal deserved to run out clear and convincing winners at El Madrigal. Incredibly, the score was goalless until just past the hour mark, but Sociedad had to ride their luck for long spells, with Luciano Vietto rattling the post on two separate occasions.
Sociedad had their moments in the first period, but really struggled when the tempo increased in the second 45 minutes. When four goals arrive in the final 30 minutes of a match, it is usually a touch harsh on the recipient, but that was not the case at El Madrigal. The Yellow Submarine were simply too strong for Sociedad and deserved their four-goal victory.
Villarreal's performance
The home side had the better of the first period, but clear chances were few and far between, with Sociedad doing a good job of closing the space in the final third of the field. Villarreal always offered the impression that they would open the scoring, however, and there was not really a period in the match where they ever looked in trouble.
It was no surprise that the first goal came from Bruno, with the Spanish international in brilliant form throughout the match. Sociedad also found it difficult to contain Cheryshev, who scored the second before setting up Gomez for the youngster's first of the match. There were a number of positives for head coach Marcelino, with Vietto also extremely impressive despite failing to find the back of the net. The result has seen Villarreal move level on points with Valencia and regain sixth spot in the process.
Sociedad's performance
Moyes will be looking for the positives to take from this match, but in truth, there were very few. Sociedad's first-half performance was fairly solid, with the visitors restricting Villarreal to very few clear opportunities, but they really struggled to create chances of their own. Carlos Vela was named as the lone forward for the Basque side, but the Mexican was too isolated on a number of occasions and lacked support from the likes of Sergio Canales and Xabi Prieto.
Sociedad were obviously well in the match for just over an hour, but heads did drop when they conceded the first. At 2-0, the vital damage had been done, but instead of shutting up shop, they were sloppy in the final minutes and conceded twice more. Moyes entered the match having taken four points from his two games in charge, but he will have learned a lot about a number of his players at El Madrigal. The supporters will want an improvement with Athletic Bilbao on the horizon.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Denis Cheryshev: Bruno and Vietto both made a strong cases to be handed this award, but it just goes to Chershev, who was a constant menace to Sociedad all evening. The Russian scored his side's second of the match with a clever finish after 73 minutes, before setting up Gomez for the youngster's first goal of the match. It was the Russian's seventh assist in the league this season.
Biggest gaffe
Sociedad goalkeeper Zubikarai was unfortunate for Villarreal's first of the match when a free kick from Bruno bounced off his back, but he had a stinker for their fourth goal. Gomez's low effort was straight at the Spaniard and appeared to be a routine save, but the stopper allowed the ball to slip under his body.
Referee performance
Referee Fernando Teixeira had a big decision to make in the latter stages of the first period when Sociedad defender Alberto de la Bella hauled Vietto to the ground just outside the box, but a yellow card was issued rather than a red. Aside from that incident, it was a fairly routine evening for the official, who awarded just four yellow cards and allowed the match to flow when possible.
What next?
Villarreal: The Yellow Submarine are in Europa League action away to Apollon on Thursday, before making the daunting trip to Atletico Madrid in the league next weekend.
Sociedad: Moyes's side face close rivals Athletic Bilbao in the Basque derby next Sunday evening.
Matt Law
