Villarreal v Apollon Limassol
Villarreal 4-0 Apollon Limassol
Villarreal leapfrogged Apollon Limassol to claim top spot in Europa League Group A following a comfortable 4-0 victory over the Cypriot outfit.Striker Gerard Moreno scored a thumping drive early on before winger Javier Espinosa scored either side of half-time. Moreno completed the rout late on with a cool left-footed finish as Villarreal moved on to four points in the pool. Apollon, who have only reached the second round once in their 60-year history, topped the group following their dramatic 3-2 triumph against Zurich a fortnight ago but Villarreal quickly asserted their dominance at Estadio El Madrigal. It took the two-time Europa League semi-finalists just nine minutes to find the net. Ruben Cani found Moreno who burst into the area and fired in a low drive through the legs of Apollon goalkeeper Miguel Bruno Vale. Villarreal, who drew 1-1 with Borussia Monchengladbach in their opening game, were forced into an early change five minutes later when right-back Antonio Rukavina limped off and was replaced by Gaspar Mario. But the hosts piled on the pressure and Espinosa, who signed from Barcelona B in July, latched onto Luciano Vietto's pass and chipped over the onrushing Bruno Vale to double the lead a minute before the break. There was no respite for Apollon when play resumed as Espinosa doubled his tally with a superb curling strike from the edge of the box on 51 minutes. Moreno crashed a shot against the bar midway through the second period but grabbed a fourth for Villarreal with eight minutes remaining. Former Tottenham striker Giovani Dos Santos, on as a late substitute, danced into the box and found Moreno in space, who made no mistake. ends
Game Information
UEFA Europa League Standings
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lyon | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | +13 | 21 |
| Aston Villa | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | +8 | 21 |
| FC Midtjylland | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | +10 | 19 |
| Real Betis | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | +6 | 17 |
| FC Porto | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | +6 | 17 |
| Braga | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | +6 | 17 |
| SC Freiburg | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | +6 | 17 |
| AS Roma | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | +7 | 16 |
| Racing Genk | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | +4 | 16 |
| Bologna | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | +7 | 15 |
| VfB Stuttgart | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | +6 | 15 |
| Ferencvaros | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | +1 | 15 |
| Nottingham Forest | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | +8 | 14 |
| Viktoria Plzen | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 14 |
| Red Star Belgrade | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | +1 | 14 |
| Celta Vigo | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | +4 | 13 |
| PAOK Salonika | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | +3 | 12 |
| Lille | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | +3 | 12 |
| Fenerbahce | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | +3 | 12 |
| Panathinaikos | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | +2 | 12 |
| Celtic | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | -2 | 11 |
| Ludogorets Razgrad | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 10 |
| Dinamo Zagreb | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | -4 | 10 |
| SK Brann | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | -2 | 9 |
| Young Boys | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | -6 | 9 |
| SK Sturm Graz | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | -6 | 7 |
| FCSB | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | -7 | 7 |
| Go Ahead Eagles | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | -8 | 7 |
| Feyenoord Rotterdam | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | -4 | 6 |
| FC Basel | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | -4 | 6 |
| RB Salzburg | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | -5 | 6 |
| Rangers | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | -9 | 4 |
| Nice | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | -8 | 3 |
| FC Utrecht | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | -10 | 1 |
| Malmö FF | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | -11 | 1 |
| Maccabi Tel-Aviv | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | -20 | 1 |

