Parejo scores penalty deep into added time to give Villarreal thrilling win over Celta Vigo
Having become the first Celta manager since the turn of the century to go unbeaten in his opening seven home games in LaLiga, Claudio Giraldez and his side travelled to Castellon full of confidence after Friday’s victory over Valencia.
It didn’t take the visitors long to stamp their authority on the contest, and their positive start was rewarded with a breakthrough in the 12th minute, as Borja Iglesias bundled home his first goal for the club after good work from Alfonso Gonzalez.
Undeterred by the early setback, Villarreal went in pursuit of an immediate response as Alex Baena saw a close-range effort superbly thwarted by Ivan Villar.
There was nothing the Celta keeper could do soon after though, with Sergi Cardona tapping home an equaliser for the hosts following a clever flicked header from Gerard Moreno.
The end-to-end nature of the match showed no signs of slowing down, and Celta restored their lead before half-time when Oscar Mingueza fired a brilliant 30-yard free-kick beyond Diego Conde into the far corner.
Villarreal emerged after the break on the front foot and a second equaliser duly arrived on the hour mark, with substitute Thierno Barry clinically heading home from Cardona’s delivery.
Armed with the momentum, the Yellow Submarine took a deserved lead just four minutes later, as Celta’s Jailson inadvertently diverted a wicked cross from Nicolas Pepe into his own net.
Having taken the lead for the first time in the match, the hosts looked determined to preserve their advantage going into the final 20 minutes.
However, Celta refused to lie down without a fight, and their perseverance was rewarded late on, with Starfelt powering a close-range header into the roof of the net.
Remarkably, there was still one final twist in the tale, as Barry was adjudged to have been fouled in the box deep into added time.
Parejo stepped up to the spot for the hosts, and despite seeing his initial penalty saved, he tucked home the rebound to send Villarreal to the summit of LaLiga.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Oscar Mingueza (Celta Vigo)
