Villarreal 4 : 0 Apollon Limassol FC - Yellow Submarine sink Apollon

Posted Friday, October 03, 2014 by PA

Villarreal leapfrogged Apollon Limassol to claim top spot in Europa League Group A following a comfortable 4-0 victory over the Cypriot outfit.

Striker Gerard Moreno scored a thumping drive early on before winger Javier Espinosa scored either side of half-time.

Moreno completed the rout late on with a cool left-footed finish as Villarreal moved on to four points in the pool.

Apollon, who have only reached the second round once in their 60-year history, topped the group following their dramatic 3-2 triumph against Zurich a fortnight ago but Villarreal quickly asserted their dominance at Estadio El Madrigal.

It took the two-time Europa League semi-finalists just nine minutes to find the net. Ruben Cani found Moreno who burst into the area and fired in a low drive through the legs of Apollon goalkeeper Miguel Bruno Vale.

Villarreal, who drew 1-1 with Borussia Monchengladbach in their opening game, were forced into an early change five minutes later when right-back Antonio Rukavina limped off and was replaced by Gaspar Mario.

But the hosts piled on the pressure and Espinosa, who signed from Barcelona B in July, latched onto Luciano Vietto's pass and chipped over the onrushing Bruno Vale to double the lead a minute before the break.

There was no respite for Apollon when play resumed as Espinosa doubled his tally with a superb curling strike from the edge of the box on 51 minutes.

Moreno crashed a shot against the bar midway through the second period but grabbed a fourth for Villarreal with eight minutes remaining.

Former Tottenham striker Giovani Dos Santos, on as a late substitute, danced into the box and found Moreno in space, who made no mistake.