Villarreal came from a goal behind to inflict a first defeat of the season on Espanyol. An early goal from Felipe Caicedo had given the Pericos the advantage, but a second half strike from Roberto Soldado and and a Cedric Bakambu brace turned things around.

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It took Villarreal a long time to get back into the game, but once Espanyol's resistance was broken, there was only one winner. Bakambu's first goal arrived in the 87th minuted and handed his side their first win of the season. His second goal in stoppage time made it 3-1 on the night.

For the second time in two matches, Espanyol took an early lead. Last week against Getafe it was Salva Sevilla's free-kick which got them off to a dream start, at El Madrigal it was Felipe Caicedo's well-timed run and finish which did the trick.

The Ecuadorian striker latched on to Gerard Moreno's smart through ball, looped around Alphonse Areola and rolled the ball into the empty net. That, though, was as good as it got for Sergio Gonzalez's side.

Villarreal would go onto completely dominate the first half, although the first 45 minutes ended without reward. Soldado and Leo Baptistao both looked sharp, while their guests struggled to deal with the threat of Samu Castillejo.

Meanwhile, Espanyol were racking up the bookings. By the 55th minute of the match, six players had made their way into the referee's notebook, but they were just about managing to keep their noses in front.

It never looked like they would hold out for 90 minutes, though. And that proved the case when Samuel Garcia's stubbed, perhaps even mis-hit pass, was clevely volleyed home by Soldado from 12-yards. The former Tottenham player now has two goals in two games since returning to La Liga.

The hosts then poured forward in search of all the victory, with only some heroic defending from Ruben Duarte and some wayward finishing slowing down their pursuit of three points.

However, they weren't slowed down enough. Substitute Bakambu collected a Soldado pass, rounded Pau Lopez, spun and slammed home in the dying stages, before tapping home from close range from another Soldado assist.