Villarreal's Golden Touch Turns Expected Into Extraordinary
Second in the Spanish First Division on 25 points when the chances they have made and allowed say 17.9, Villarreal are living a season of precision, not providence.
Villarreal are not lucky. They are sharp. That is the verdict, and the numbers wear yellow. Eleven games into the Spanish First Division campaign, Wassim's side sit second with 25 points, seven more than the 17.9 their expected points suggest they should have. In a league where the table and the chances usually argue, Villarreal have made them agree.
The maths is a flamenco of two movements. Going forward, they have scored 22 goals from chances worth 14.7 — a surplus of 7.3, the sort of finishing that turns half-chances into headlines. Going back, they have conceded eight from a 10.2 allowance, a saving of 2.2. Put simply: they take what they are given and give back less. That is not a team riding a wave; that is a team with its feet planted.
Wassim, in charge since the summer of 2062, has built something that knows exactly what it is. A month ago they dismantled Athletico Madrid 5-0, Sergio Galisteo helping himself to a hat-trick while the league leaders passed the ball beautifully and shot not once on target. It was the season in miniature: Villarreal's bite against another side's decoration.
The wider picture flatters them further. Athletico top the expected table on 25.6 yet have 30 points; Barcelona's chances say 20.1 against 22 earned. Villarreal, seventh on expected points, are second in the world that matters. Some will whisper about the gap closing, about the finishing cooling. Let them whisper. In Villarreal, where the small club carries a big heart, they have learned to trust the boot over the spreadsheet.
"We do not count chances," one voice from the dressing room said this week. "We count points." The points are talking loudly.