Villarreal Seizes La Liga Lead with Late Goal, Juventus Wins Second Straight in Serie A

Aug. 27, 2024, 3:26 a.m.

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Dani Parejo converted a penalty rebound in the 10th minute of added time on Monday, propelling Villarreal to the top of La Liga with a 4-3 home triumph over Celta Vigo. In Serie A, Dusan Vlahovic's brace guided Juventus to their second consecutive victory, a 3-0 win at Verona.

Celta began the third round of the Liga season atop the standings on goal difference from Real Madrid, having won their initial two matches.

Borja Iglesias, making his Celta debut, put the visitors ahead after 12 minutes, capitalizing on a loose ball and slotting it into an empty net.

Sergi Cardona, standing unmarked at the far post, equalized from a 26th-minute corner.

Oscar Mingueza smashed Celta back ahead before half-time.

Villarreal substitute Thierno Barry, who had just entered the game, headed an equaliser in the 60th minute.

Four minutes later, Celta defender Jailson unintentionally deflected a cross from Nicolas Pepe into his own net, putting Villarreal ahead.

Swedish center-back Carl Starfelt headed Celta level in the 80th minute.

Deep into stoppage time Celta’s Hugo Alvarez, a second-half substitute, pulled down Barry to concede a penalty.

Goalkeeper Ivan Villar saved Parejo’s spot kick but the midfielder scored from the rebound.

The victory propelled Villarreal to seven points, claiming the top spot in the standings.

Vlahovic fires Juventus to second straight win

Thiago Motta’s side, who started the campaign with a 3-0 win over Como, are the only team boasting a 100 percent after two matches and sit top of the early table.

Juventus are determined to challenge for their first Serie A title since the 2019/20 season.

Motta has taken over as head coach following Massimiliano Allegri’s sacking after his outburst in the aftermath of their Italian Cup final win in May.

18 - Dusan #Vlahovic leads the pack with the most multi-goal games in #SerieA over the past six seasons (since 2019-20): 18, followed by Lautaro Martínez (17) and Ciro Immobile (16) in this period. A true force. #HellasJuve pic.twitter.com/em0YqbmH2f

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) August 26, 2024 Advertisement Juve slipped away last season to come third in Serie A, although that was their highest finish in four years.

Vlahovic put Juventus ahead at Verona shortly before the half-hour mark.

Nicolo Savona, a 21-year-old defender making his full debut for the club, headed home Juve’s second goal before half-time from Samuel Mbangula’s cross.

Belgian Mbangula now has a goal and two assists in his first two appearances for the senior team since being promoted from the youth academy.

Vlahovic sealed the victory with a penalty just eight minutes into the second half.

Advertisement “He is certainly working hard on our aggression and our attitude,” Vlahovic told DAZN of new boss Motta.

“We all agree that our attitude is the key to everything, if we have the right mentality, it all works better.

“We play for each other, but also there are tactical changes that we know about.”

Juventus will likely face their most significant challenge of the early stages of the season when they host Roma on Sunday.

Earlier, Como came from behind to secure their first Serie A point since 2003 thanks to former AC Milan forward Patrick Cutrone’s second-half equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Cagliari.

“I am happy, because this is a difficult place to play, but at the same time we need to improve and as soon as possible get used to the Serie A tempo,” said Como coach Cesc Fabregas.

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