BARCELONA, March 13: Midfielder Dani Parejo again came to the rescue of Villarreal’s misfiring forwards, scoring in a 1-0 win Saturday over Celta Vigo in the last game before Unai Emery’s side faces Juventus in a Champions League showdown.
The Spanish league win followed a defeat at Osasuna that had ended a five-match unbeaten run for Villarreal.
Parejo also scored two weeks ago to help Villarreal fight back for a 1-1 home draw with Juventus in the first leg of their round-of-16 matchup. The second leg is on Wednesday in Turin.
Villarreal is one of the top-scoring teams in the Spanish league this season, but it wasted several chances against Celta before Parejo broke through.
Parejo struck the 65th-minute winner after Manuel Trigueros set him up with an exquisite pass with his back to his fellow midfielder.
Dani Gómez equalized with 10 minutes remaining to salvage a 1-1 home draw for last-place Levante against Espanyol.
Elche won 1-0 at Granada to ruin the debut of caretaker coach Rubén Torrecilla, who stepped in for the fired Robert Moreno.
Valencia drew 0-0 at Getafe. (AP)
