Sergio Asenjo instinctively deflected the ball and Alfonso Pedraza put it into his own goal as Stefan Savić struck with his head after a free kick. The local defender could not avoid this as he did not even see the ball bounce his way.
In the second half, Joao Felix struck the decisive blow. The Portuguese reached a stray ball in front of him and beat Asenjo with a shot into the long corner.
Who knows how the fate of the meeting at Estadio de la Ceramica would have turned out, had it not been for the situation in the 25th minute.
Villarreal could have equalized even before the break. However, Gerard Moreno did not control the ball in the penalty area well enough to surprise Jan Oblak.
The Rojiblancos now have a five-point advantage over Barcelona and a six-point advantage over Real, with the Catalan team having played one more match.
Villarreal CF – Atletico Madrid 0-2 (0-1)
Goals: Pedraza (25og), Felix (69)
