Valencia’s winless home run extended to seven matches as local rivals Villarreal scored twice in the closing stages to secure a 2-1 victory in the Derbi de la Comunitat.
Valencia have now drawn three and lost four of those seven fixtures, while Villarreal claimed only their second competitive away win of the season.
The visitors dominated possession from the outset, enjoying 73.9% of the ball during a fast-paced opening period. However, their early pressure produced little more than an off-target effort from Pape Gueye in the opening 10 minutes.
Valencia suffered an early setback when David Otorbi was carried from the field on a stretcher. Villarreal then came close to taking the lead, but Stole Dimitrievski produced an outstanding one-handed save low to his left to deny Tajon Buchanan.
The home side struggled to create anything in attack, and Villarreal had managed eight efforts at goal to Valencia’s none with more than 30 minutes played.
Against the run of play, Valencia were awarded a penalty after Dani Raba was brought down in the area by Renato Veiga. The decision followed a lengthy VAR review, and Pepelu made no mistake, driving the spot-kick high into the net beyond the reach of Peter Gulacsi.
A series of fouls disrupted the closing stages of the first half, but the match regained its momentum after the interval as Villarreal resumed their attacking approach.
Valencia appeared to have doubled their advantage in the 55th minute when Cesar Tarrega swept the ball home, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
The game then opened up, with Buchanan testing Dimitrievski with two promising efforts either side of Arnaut Danjuma’s shot, which stung the fingers of Gulacsi.
Villarreal’s sustained pressure finally produced an equaliser with 20 minutes remaining. Alex Freeman rose strongly to head in Sergi Cardona’s cross, which had travelled through a crowded penalty area.
Villarreal were reduced to 10 men with just over 10 minutes left when Gueye was sent off for a deliberate elbow. Despite the dismissal, the visitors continued to press and were rewarded in the sixth minute of seven added on.
Georges Mikautadze escaped the Valencia defence and finished with his left foot, leaving Dimitrievski helpless and completing Villarreal’s comeback.
The result also extended Valencia’s poor record in this fixture, with Los Che still without a win in their past six meetings with Villarreal. They have drawn two and lost four of those matches.
Alex Freeman was named Flashscore’s Man of the Match for Villarreal.