Alaves beat Villarreal 1-0 in LaLiga as a first-half goal from L. Boye settled a match the visitors largely controlled. The hosts needed only a handful of chances to take the points while Villarreal's extra possession and shots went unrewarded.
Match Summary
Villarreal dictated the early rhythm and asked most of the questions. Alaves sat deep, limited space, and waited. The wait ended in the first half. L. Boye had Alaves in front after 31 minutes. A. Perez was the provider. That was the only goal of the night.
Villarreal still had time before the break to reply and could not. Alaves went in a goal up at the interval. The second half followed the same script. Villarreal continued to monopolize the ball, and Alaves protected the box while looking for the counter. The visitors created the higher volume of attempts after the restart, but the home side blocked the middle and forced play wide. Pressure rose in the closing stages. Time leaked away, and nobody found an equalizer. Alaves saw out a 1-0 win.
Key Moments
The lead never looked comfortable on the balance of play. Villarreal could not turn territorial control into a goal, and that waste is why a single Alaves chance decided the night.
