Alaves down Villarreal in Spanish La Liga football action

Jonathan Calleri and Borja Baston scored the two goals whereby Deportivo Alaves downed Villarreal 2-1 in an intense match that went into extra time.

Gerard Moreno notched the goal for Villarreal just 10 minutes into the match at Mendizorroza stadium here on Sunday, reports Efe.

Abeladro Fernandez's squad staged a great comeback, fighting hard the entire game and their persistence paid off, with the Basque team moving into second place in the La Liga table with 20 points, while their rivals are hovering just above the threshold of relegation with 9 points.

Villarreal sought to dominate the midfield, but Alaves - after recovering from the shock of the early tally - repeatedly drove toward their rivals' goal, manned by Sergio Asenjo, during the first half, although both sides went into the break with the game tied at 1-1.

Just after play resumed, in the 50th minute, Calleri - from Argentina - was able to knock in a header to even things up.

The heartstopping moment in the match came just three minutes later, when Ximo Navarro and Wakaso - both with Alaves - collided spectacularly in mid-air and the former had to be taken from the field by stretcher.

Play was halted for several minutes, but the incident did not affect the rhythm of Alaves, which continued to give Villarreal problems, although they could not get out in front during regulation time and the match went into extra minutes.

It was Borja Baston, stepping onto the pitch for the first time in minute 93, who managed to get into the opposing area to score the second goal.

--IANS

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