VILLARREAL, Spain (Interstat) — Villarreal CF opened its La Liga season with a 2-1 comeback victory over Elche on Sunday, overcoming an early deficit at Estadio de la Cerámica to secure three points.

The visiting side, Elche, stunned the home crowd in the 31st minute when forward Tajon Buchanan broke the deadlock. The goal gave the underdogs an early advantage and put Villarreal’s revamped defense under immediate pressure.

Villarreal’s response was swift and decisive. Just ten minutes later, in the 41st minute, defender Santiago Mouriño leveled the score. Mouriño’s equalizer, assisted by forward Alberto Moleiro, shifted the momentum firmly in favor of the Yellow Submarine heading into halftime.

The second half saw Villarreal control possession and create the more dangerous chances, but a resilient Elche defense and a series of interventions kept the scoreline even. The tension increased as the match entered its final stages, with both sides earning cautions; Moleiro was booked for Villarreal in the 43rd minute and Elche substitute Martim Neto received a yellow in the 74th.

The decisive moment arrived in the 82nd minute. Mouriño once again proved the unlikely hero, scoring his second goal of the match to complete a brace and put Villarreal ahead for the first time. The defender’s late strike secured the win for the home side, capping a remarkable individual performance.

Elche pushed for a second equalizer in the frantic closing minutes, including substantial stoppage time, but could not find a way through. Their frustration culminated in a yellow card for goalscorer André Silva deep into added time, at the 90+6 minute mark.

The final whistle confirmed a winning start for Villarreal under the La Liga lights. The result defied the pre-match projection from Interstat’s game simulator, which had forecast a 1-1 draw. Their ELO rating system had given Villarreal a 63.6 percent probability of victory, a figure the team ultimately justified with its second-half performance.

With the win, Villarreal begins its league campaign with a perfect record of one win and zero losses, while Elche starts with one loss and zero wins. Both clubs see their overall season records across all competitions mirror their La Liga start. The match was defined by key contributions from defenders, with Mouriño’s two goals overshadowing the earlier efforts of Elche’s Buchanan and the assist from Villarreal’s Moleiro.