It's back to winning ways for record-breaking Eibar
SD Eibar ran out 3-2 winners at Villarreal
SD Eibar brought their four-game winless streak to an end with a 3-2 away victory over Villarreal CF as the Armeros came from behind against opposition sitting in the European spots, courtesy of goals from Pedro León, Kike García and Takashi Inui. This triumph sees Eibar rack up a 12th league victory of the campaign and move onto 44 points, which represent top-flight records for the club on both fronts.
Villarreal managed to dampen Eibar's bright start in the opening exchanges as the hosts comfortably withstood the visitors' pressure. The Yellow Submarine went on to pin Eibar back into their own area and on 17' Roberto Soriano made the breakthrough.
The hosts' opener served to shake Eibar into life, with the visitors pushing forward in search of an equaliser, which they came close to finding through Inui, Pedro León and a Sergi Enrich header.
No further goals were forthcoming before the interval, but the whole complexion of the game completely changed after the break.
Right at the start of the second period, Kike García went to ground in the box and the referee pointed to the spot. Pedro León stepped up and made no mistake to claim his 9th goal of the campaign, representing a career-best goalscoring return for the midfielder.
With 54 minutes on the clock, Kike García once again found himself in the thick of the action when Anaitz Arbilla sent in an inch-perfect cross from the right and the Murcia-born hitman, who had stolen a yard at the near post, deftly poked the ball home.
Villarreal responded to going behind and sought to draw themselves level, but some highly assured goalkeeping from Yoel kept the hosts at bay.
Despite the home side's pressure, it was Eibar who struck to further extend their advantage in the 76th minute. Inui nipped in to dispossess a Villarreal defender and after driving into the box, he fired the ball into the top corner to claim his first La Liga goal of the campaign, which saw the Japanese international receive warm congratulations from his teammates.
Despite Eibar's third goal, Fran Escribá's charges didn't give in and Roberto Soriano hit his second of the afternoon to set up a grandstand finish.
Once again, Yoel came to the rescue to keep the visitors in front and Eibar held out to claim a win from this tough away assignment against a fine side.
The Eibar players fell to Estadio de la Cerámica turf at the final whistle, clearly demonstrating that they had given every last ounce in their pursuit of the three points.
This win sees José Luis Mendilibar's men move to within four points of today's opponents and the European qualification berths. The Armeros are in action twice this week, welcoming Las Palmas to Ipurua on Thursday at 19:30, before heading to Balaídos to take on Celta Vigo on Sunday at 16:15.