Villarreal have played seven league matches so far this season under Iñigo Pérez with two wins, two draws and three defeats. They scored 13 goals and conceded 12. Of their goals, three were penalties, and one was an own goal.
Villarreal created 13.9 non-penalty expected goals (npxG), 1.98 per match, the third most in La Liga. They scored nine non-penalty goals, 4.9 fewer than those chances were worth. Their best run came in their sixth and seventh league match, when they averaged 3.14 npxG per match.
Among the players, Ayoze Pérez had the most npxG (3.6, one goal), ahead of Georges Mikautadze (2.8, one goal) and Alberto Moleiro (1.6, two goals).
They conceded 8.5 npxG, 1.22 per match, the ninth fewest in La Liga. They let in 11 non-penalty goals, 2.5 more than those chances were worth. Their best run came in their third and fourth league match, when they conceded 0.65 npxG per match.
Their defensive actions (tackles, interceptions, recoveries, clearances and blocked passes) came on average 36.9 meters from their own goal line, the fourth highest in La Liga. Their centre-backs received the ball on average 40.2 meters from their own goal line, the sixth highest in La Liga.
Villarreal had a field tilt of 67.0% (their share of all the final-third passes in their matches), the second highest in La Liga. They had the bigger share in six of their seven matches. Over the season they controlled 14 of the pitch’s 24 zones, meaning they had more than 55% of the touches there, and their opponents controlled three.
Their PPDA was 9.8 – meaning – opponents made 9.8 passes for every tackle, interception, challenge, blocked pass or foul Villarreal made outside their own defensive third. That was the second lowest in La Liga; the league as a whole recorded 12.1. A lower PPDA means a more intense press.
They completed 511 open-play passes per match, the second highest in La Liga. Of the passes they received, 29.0% arrived in the final third, the second highest in La Liga. Their most-used formation was 4-4-2, and the two players who passed to each other most were Pape Gueye and Renato Veiga, with 84 passes between them. Villarreal’s completed passes added 13.7 expected threat (xT) over the season, 1.96 per match, the most in La Liga. Pape Gueye added the most (1.47), ahead of Renato Veiga (1.33) and Alberto Moleiro (1.18).
They took 109 non-penalty shots, 15.6 per match. Their average shot came from 16.8 meters, the third shortest in La Liga. They also scored three penalties.
Across 696 minutes, including stoppage time, Villarreal were winning for 141 minutes (20.3%), level for 364 (52.3%), and losing for 191 (27.4%). Their time spent winning was the 14th most in La Liga.
