LALIGA EA SPORTS Matchday 18 saw Villarreal CF achieve something that no team had managed this season by beating Elche CF 3-1 on the road. Eder Sarabia’s side came into Saturday’s clash against El Submarino Amarillo as one of the only three teams to remain unbeaten in the competition. Yet, Marcelino’s side escaped from the Estadio Martínez Valero with a well-earned three points to send a message towards the rest of the title contenders. Click this link https://a.meridianbet.ke/c/C7pYjz to start gaming and stand a chance of winning big with Meridianbet.
Villarreal CF hit the ground running, with Alberto Moleiro opening the scoring seven minutes in and Georges Mikautadze doubling their lead in the 13rd minute. Elche CF dominated the ball and Martim Neto pulled one back on the half-an-hour mark, but Alfonso Pedraza netted his first league goal this term to put the game to bed in the closing stages.
“We are delighted to have beaten a great rival like Elche CF in such a difficult setting,” Marcelino said after the game. “We secured three points at a ground where no one else had won. That’s quite an achievement.”
The visitors got back to winning ways after losing three in a row across all competitions, including a 2-0 home loss to FC Barcelona that had many questioning whether Villarreal CF should be considered title aspirants.
Can Villarreal CF push for the league title?
Villarreal CFmight be sitting 11 points behind leaders FC Barcelona, but their two games in hand allow Marcelino’s men to dream after opening 2026 in style. Victories in the upcoming duel against Deportivo Alavés and the postponed match against Levante UD would bring them within one point of second-placed Real Madrid and only five points from FC Barcelona.
El Submarino Amarillo are currently one point away from their best point tally (39) in a first half of a top-flight season, meaning that should they pick up two points in the remaining two matchdays they would reach a club-record 40 points before the second half of the campaign.
“We have 38 points with two games left to play in the first half of the season,” Marcelino added. “It’s incredible. We’ve only lost three games against the big teams. We should be very satisfied.”
Only Real Madrid and FC Barcelona (two each) have suffered fewer losses than Villarreal CF (three), who have won 12 of their 17 games so far this season. As Marcelino pointed out, his team has only lost against fellow title contenders FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid, but they are set to host both Madrid sides at home in the second half of the season. Having won seven and lost just one of their nine games at the Estadio de la Cerámica, Villarreal CF have turned their ground into a fortress.
They boast LALIGA EA SPORTS’ best defence with 16 goals conceded and joint third-best attack with 34 scored so far. Moleiro has impressed with seven goals and two assists, while only Thibaut Courtois (eight) has kept more clean sheets than Luiz Júnior (seven) this term.
Having received a boost in morale by beating Elche CF last weekend, Villarreal CF are set to host Deportivo Alavés on Saturday. El Submarino Amarillo have won four of their last five home games against El Glorioso, who have one draw and two losses in their last three league games.
Marcelino may have insisted in recent remarks that “it’s difficult to compete with Real Madrid and FC Barcelona for the league title”, claiming that “it’s impossible to maintain this pace”, but his team has demonstrated that they have what it takes to put pressure on the other title aspirants. Their performances this season have proved that Villarreal CF belong in the title-contender conversation and, should they win each of their two games in hand, their fans will have every right to dream big in this new calendar year.
