Villarreal suffer shock home defeat as Espanyol's interim boss enjoys winning debut

Espanyol secured a surprise 1-0 victory away at Villarreal in Friday's La Liga matchday 11 clash. Leandro Cabrera sealed the shock win for the visitors in the 66th minute, netting his first goal of the season.

The Catalan side ended a six-game winless run to claim their second away victory of the campaign. The opening half saw chances at both ends of the pitch.

The hosts gradually seized the initiative, but neither Georges Mikautadze nor Nicolas Pépé could find a way past goalkeeper Ángel Fortuño. To make matters worse, Villarreal lost Gerard Moreno to injury. At the other end, Bryan Zaragoza threatened for the visitors, though his effort also failed to find the net.

Espanyol thought they had broken the deadlock shortly after the restart through Roberto Fernández, but the referee disallowed the strike following a VAR review for an earlier foul. The visitors were not to be denied, however, and struck in the 66th minute when Cabrera converted Zaragoza's cross with a sharp close-range volley.

Villarreal pushed for an equaliser in the closing stages, but the visitors' disciplined backline held firm. The result ended Espanyol's seven-match losing streak in head-to-head encounters and lifted them out of the relegation zone, while the hosts suffered their third home defeat of the season.