Levante feeds more its faith at the expense of Sevilla and Villarreal draws with little in Oviedo

Levante UD suffered a 2-0 victory over Sevilla FC on matchday 33 of LaLiga EA Sports, which this Thursday also saw Villarreal CF draw (1-1) in their visit to bottom club Real Oviedo, while Rayo Vallecano beat RCD Espanyol 1-0 to gain oxygen in the fight to save the category.

At the Ciutat de València Stadium there was controversy as soon as it began, since the referee gave a penalty by Nemanja Gudelj on Iván Romero, but he amended his decision at the request of the VAR. Then the minutes passed thickly, including medical stops, until Romero made it 1-0 in the 38th minute with a right-footed volley after a chipped pass from Jon Ander Olasagasti.

Sevilla’s reaction came after the break, with two shots from Rubén Vargas and Akor Adams over the crossbar. Although the substitutions suited the ‘granota’ team better, in the 80th minute they were scared by a penalty for handball awarded to Pablo Martínez, although the referee again corrected his ruling by not seeing it punishable in the VAR review.

With the visitors focused on the attack in search of a tie in extra time, Etta Eyong launched a counterattack that Kervin Arriaga channeled with a self-pass; He stepped on the rival area and gave the goal low to Romero for his double. This victory placed Levante with 32 points, still in the relegation zone, but they got closer to Sevilla who still have 34 points.

A little higher in the table with 38 points is now Rayo, who played a lackluster game at home. The first clear dangerous opportunity came for the locals after the break, in a cross from Andrei Ratiu that Isi Palazón headed in sharply on arrival and that Marko Dmitrovic cleared at mid-height, well placed in his goal.

In the 70th minute, Dmitrovic repeated the save, this time with his left foot, after a similar play with a cross from Ratiu and a header from Alemão. The Perica response was unbeatable, as Kike García’s bouncing right hand was soon deflected by Óscar Valentín with an elbow inside the area; However, Dani Cárdenas saved the penalty against Kike García himself.

Pere Milla also missed in the 79th minute, sending a very clear header wide after a corner. In that give and take, Isi bothered Dmitrovic with a cross-shot that heralded the 1-0 (87′); Thanks to an attack guided by Ilias Akhomach, Sergio Camello received the ball on the run and avoided Omar El Hilali with a self-pass; and in front of the goalkeeper, he scored low.

Despite their push in added time, the Espanyolistas succumbed and prolonged their disastrous dynamic of 2026, remaining with 38 points and looking towards a looming relegation zone. Oviedo remains at the bottom, having started its duel against Villarreal at the Carlos Tartiere Stadium because Dani Calvo committed a penalty on Nicolas Pépé.

FROM MORE TO LESS IN THE TARTIERE

Aarón Escandell stopped Dani Parejo’s shot, but Ilyas Chaira had entered the area ahead of time and the maximum penalty was ordered to be repeated, which Pépé took advantage of to score 0-1 in that second instance. Already in the second half, Arnau Tenas prevented an early Oviedo goal from Alberto Reina’s shot and in the 66th minute Chaira also went for it without a reward.

Of course, Chaira later retaliated with the score at 1-1 after receiving a backheel pass from Reina, breaking free from an opponent and executing a left-footed shot that hit another defender to sneak into the goal. Villarreal made substitutions and reached 1-2 in the 82nd minute after a cross from Sergi Cardona from the left wing and Ayoze Pérez headed against the crossbar.

Miraculously, his shot did not hit the back of Escandell, who together with a teammate cleared the ball almost over the goal line. The local faith did not achieve any further reward, as Santiago Colombatto sent a powerful left foot shot high from outside the area in stoppage time. This left Oviedo last with 28 points and the ‘Yellow Submarine’ third with 62.