Villarreal were controversially denied a penalty in the opening minute when Nicolas Pepe was stood on, and the same player then received a cut above his eye before the game was five minutes in.
A combative derby that was heavy on physicality was also depressingly light on attacking action at both ends, with Pape Gueye’s free-kick the only shot on target in the opening 20 minutes.
On 22’, Los Che’s Umar Sadiq was cleaned out by Villarreal goalkeeper Luiz Junior, handing the visitors a penalty which Largie Ramazani stroked home with ease, with the Belgian breaking the deadlock thanks to his second goal in as many games.
A red card for a member of the hosts’ backroom team after Pepe was denied another spot-kick was in keeping with how the match was playing out, though that was quickly forgotten as Valencia failed to clear a cross, allowing Santi Comesana to tap home an equaliser on the half-hour.
In stoppage time, Ramazani was adjudged to have blocked Pepe’s cross with his arm inside the box, and Gueye kept his cool to place his left-footed finish home and turn the game around for Villarreal.
A much brighter start to the second half promised much, and Sergi Cardona perhaps ought to have done better with a low drive that he screwed horribly wide when well placed.
With an hour gone, a congested midfield had kept further chances to a minimum, but Valencia’s dominance of possession offered promise that they could mount a late comeback.
Both sides made two substitutions with 20 minutes to play as the game reverted to a more scrappy affair, and one of those, Arnaut Danjuma, almost brought the visitors level with 12 minutes to play only to be denied by Luiz Junior.
Ultimately, the hosts held on, and the result continued Villarreal's unbeaten H2H streak in the league to five matches (W3, D2), whilst also ensuring a ninth unbeaten meeting they've hosted (W7, D2) - their longest run against Los Che in the Spanish top-flight.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Renato Veiga (Villarreal)