Málaga 1–3 Villarreal — Match Stats & Analysis

La Liga · 2026Thu, 17 Sept 2026, 19:30 UTC

Málaga

LDLDD

1–3Full-time analysis

Villarreal

DDLLL

This page describes the completed match context. The result is not presented as a prior forecast.

Match at a glance

Villarreal won 1–3.

Shots: 516
Shots on target: 17
Expected goals: 0.633.33
Possession: 37%63%

Full time

What the match recorded

Villarreal beat Málaga 3–1. Recorded in this match (Málaga – Villarreal): shots 5–16, shots on target 1–7, expected goals 0.63–3.33, possession 37%–63%. This is what was recorded. It is not a claim that the result was foreseeable.

Pre-match record

What the data showed before kick-off. Kept for reference; it did not know the result.

Recent scheduling adds useful context

weak

A compressed recent schedule is recorded for Villarreal.

4.31 days ▲Rest daysMálaga · Villarreal3.02 days

Evidence and caveat

Comparison: Rest days and completed matches in the prior 14 days are shown directly.

Window: previous 14 days

Metric	Málaga	Villarreal	Baseline
Rest days	4.31 days	3.02 days	—
Matches last 14 days	2 matches	2 matches	—

Caveat: The database does not describe travel, rotation decisions or player-level workload.

Málaga's recent record differs from the season

weak

Málaga's last-five goals scored average is above their season average.

0.6 goals/match ▲Goals forLast 5 · Season0.5 goals/match

Evidence and caveat

Comparison: An unweighted last-five average is compared with the unweighted season average.

Window: last_5 versus season

Metric	Last 5	Season	Baseline
Goals for	0.6 goals/match	0.5 goals/match	1.45 goals/match

Caveat: Five matches are sensitive to opponent mix and isolated match states.

Villarreal show a distinct attacking-volume record

moderate

Villarreal's shot volume and the opposing shot-allowance context sit above their competition baselines.

9.83 shots/match ▲ShotsMálaga · Villarreal15.2 shots/match

Evidence and caveat

Comparison: Team shot volume is paired with the opponent's recorded shot allowance.

Window: season

Metric	Málaga	Villarreal	Baseline
Shots	9.83 shots/match	15.2 shots/match	11.9 shots/match
Shots against	14 shots/match	14 shots/match	13.4 shots/match

Caveat: Shot volume describes activity; it does not establish finishing quality or a match outcome.

This match

Match statistics

Shots5 shots16 shotsMálaga 5 shots, Villarreal 16 shots
Shots on target1 shot7 shotsMálaga 1 shot, Villarreal 7 shots
Expected goals0.63 xG3.33 xGMálaga 0.63 xG, Villarreal 3.33 xG
Possession37%63%Málaga 37%, Villarreal 63%
Corners4 corners8 cornersMálaga 4 corners, Villarreal 8 corners
Fouls17 fouls10 foulsMálaga 17 fouls, Villarreal 10 fouls
Yellow cards5 cards1 cardMálaga 5 cards, Villarreal 1 card
Passes347 passes600 passesMálaga 347 passes, Villarreal 600 passes
Pass accuracy81%90%Málaga 81%, Villarreal 90%
Shots inside box4 shots12 shotsMálaga 4 shots, Villarreal 12 shots
Blocked shots0 blocks4 blocksMálaga 0 blocks, Villarreal 4 blocks
Goalkeeper saves3 saves0 savesMálaga 3 saves, Villarreal 0 saves
Offsides1 offside3 offsidesMálaga 1 offside, Villarreal 3 offsides

As it happened

Key moments

12′Carlos DotorGoal · Málaga
34′Jose SalinasYellow card · Málaga
40′Alberto MoleiroGoal · Villarreal
42′Ilias AkhomachYellow card · Villarreal
45′Pape GueyeGoal · Villarreal
Half-time
68′David LarrubiaYellow card · Málaga
70′Einar GalileaYellow card · Málaga
79′Ramón EnríquezYellow card · Málaga
82′Carlos RomeroGoal · Villarreal
85′Alfonso HerreroYellow card · Málaga
86′Pape GueyePenalty goal · Villarreal
Full time

Player changes · 10grouped by team and minute

37′Villarreal · 1 player changePape Gueye
46′Málaga · 2 player changesDani Lorenzo · Rafa Garrido
61′Málaga · 2 player changesJoaquín Muñoz · Adrián Niño
63′Villarreal · 2 player changesCarlos Romero · Georges Mikautadze
75′Málaga · 1 player changeRamón Enríquez
80′Villarreal · 2 player changesSantiago Mouriño · Carlos Maciá

Who started

Lineups

Show both lineups

Lineups as recorded. The source does not mark them confirmed.

Málaga4-4-2

Alfonso HerreroG
Carlos PugaD
Einar GalileaD
Ángel RecioD
Rafa GarridoD
Carlos DotorM
David LarrubiaM
Pablo MartínezM
Juan CruzM
ChupeteF
Dani LorenzoF

Villarreal4-4-2

Péter GulácsiG
Logan CostaD
Alexander FreemanD
Renato VeigaD
Sergi CardonaD
Alberto MoleiroM
Pape GueyeM
Nicolas PépéM
Nathan-Dylan SalibaM
Tani OluwaseyiF
Ayoze PérezF

Metric comparison

Team comparison

Season averages, with the sample size beside each metric.

Where the edge is

Season: Málaga favored in 1 of 13 directional metrics · Villarreal in 9 · 3 too close

led this metric higher value (descriptive) too close

Window

Season

Málaga6 matchesVillarreal6 matches

0.5 goals/matchGoals scored6/6▲ 1.67 goals/match

1.83 goals/matchGoals allowed6/61.83 goals/match

0.9 xG/matchExpected goals6/6▲ 2.01 xG/match

9.83 shots/matchShots6/6▲ 15.2 shots/match

1.67 shots/matchShots on target6/6▲ 6.5 shots/match

49.8%Possession6/6● 61.7%

4.83 corners/matchCorners6/6● 7.33 corners/match

12.3 fouls/matchFouls6/611 fouls/match

Evidence quality

How much supports this analysis

Grade B · Useful evidenceUseful evidence — limited

Season samples6 / 6home / away teams

Recent samples5 / 5last-five windows

FreshnessLess than one dayfrom nearest prior match

Evidence is usable but does not meet the strongest completeness threshold.

Known unknowns

Lineups, injuries, suspensions and tactical changes are not available in the retained dataset.
Some metrics are unavailable or below their observation minimum: cards.

Analysis cutoff: Thu, 17 Sept 2026, 23:30 UTC · analysis-v4

Team rankings in La Liga

Goals per match ranking xG per match ranking Shots per match ranking

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Match at a glance