Villarreal take a point in Mallorca and extend their lead in the battle for third place
Villarreal CF earned a valuable draw at Son Moix (1-1). The Yellows shared the points with a RCD Mallorca side in need, largely thanks to a superb performance from Arnau Tenas, who denied the hosts a greater reward. Ayoze Pérez put the Submarine ahead from the penalty spot, but Muriqi capitalised on a mistake from the Villarreal goalkeeper to earn the home side a point — a result that allows Villarreal to extend their advantage over Atlético de Madrid in the fight for third place.
With Champions League qualification already secured, Villarreal took to the pitch with a much-rotated starting XI. Santiago Mouriño, Rafa Marín, Sergi Cardona, Thomas Partey, Tajon Buchanan, Alfon González, Ayoze Pérez and Tani Oluwaseyi all started, with only Arnau Tenas, Renato Veiga and Santi Comesaña retaining their places. It was a clear effort-management exercise ahead of Wednesday’s home clash against Sevilla.
Mallorca began with greater intensity, although they lacked sharpness in the final third. Luvumbo was the main source of danger for the hosts, while Villarreal also threatened before the half-hour mark through a long-range effort by Buchanan that narrowly missed the target.
The goals arrived late in the first half. In the 29th minute, Mateu Morey was penalised for a handball inside the area following a cross from Sergi Cardona. Ayoze Pérez stepped up and converted from the spot to give Villarreal the lead.
Just before the break, Muriqi equalised after capitalising on a handling error by Arnau Tenas as he attempted to claim a cross. Despite appearing to be offside, the goal was awarded following a VAR review.
In the second half, Mallorca pushed forward in search of the win, while Villarreal looked to exploit the spaces. Marcelino introduced fresh quality, bringing on Moleiro and Pepe, Mikautadze and Gerard, and later Dani Parejo.
Late on, Mallorca pressed hard, but Arnau Tenas produced a series of brilliant saves to secure the point. The Villarreal goalkeeper denied Muriqi twice and, in stoppage time, made an outstanding save to keep out a free-kick from Jan Virgili.
Thanks to a heroic second-half display by Tenas, Villarreal held firm to claim a valuable away point. Combined with Atlético de Madrid’s defeat to Celta, the result sees the Submarine extend their lead to six points, with three matches remaining and a decisive head-to-head still to come in the final round.
