Villarreal 1–2 Ajax
- Oluwaseyi 49'
- Gloukh 61'
- Edvardsen 89'
20 January 2026
The match in data
Ajax got the better of Villarreal, 2–1, on 20 January 2026, in the 2025-26 Champions League (League Stage 7).
Ajax came from behind: they were trailing 1–0 at 49'.
Player of the match: Nicolas Pépé (Villarreal), rated 52, thanks above all to 0.81 xG and 3 shots on target. Pépé produced 2.5 times as much as a forward typically does, at 2.1 times the cost.
For Ajax, the highest-rated player was Youri Regeer, with 71.
Nicolas Pépé
Villarreal · 72'
Produced 2.46× and cost 2.12× their position's average
- 0.81 xG 3.7×
- 3 shots on target 4.0×
- 1 big chance created 4.0×
- 0.81 xG not converted 4.0×
- 3 shots off target, worth 0.40 3.2×
Match ratings
Everyone who played, sorted by rating. No rating: anyone who played under 20 minutes, and a goalkeeper who did not play the whole match.
| Player | Position | Min | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rafa Marín | Defender | 90 | 64 |
| Alberto Moleiro | Forward | 46 | 53 |
| Tani Oluwaseyi | Forward | 90 | 52 |
| Nicolas Pépé ★ | Forward | 72 | 52 |
| Ayoze Pérez | Forward | 72 | 50 |
| Thomas Partey | Midfielder | 74 | 49 |
| Tajon Buchanan | Forward | 44 | 49 |
| Santiago Mouriño | Defender | 90 | 40 |
| Sergi Cardona | Defender | 90 | 40 |
| Santi Comesaña | Midfielder | 90 | 38 |
| Renato Veiga | Defender | 90 | 37 |
| Arnau Tenas | Goalkeeper | 90 | 36 |
| Georges Mikautadze | Forward | 18 | no rating |
| Gerard Moreno | Forward | 18 | no rating |
| Dani Parejo | Midfielder | 16 | no rating |
| Player | Position | Min | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Youri Regeer | Midfielder | 54 | 71 |
| Ko Itakura | Defender | 36 | 53 |
| Vitezslav Jaros | Goalkeeper | 90 | 50 |
| Davy Klaassen | Midfielder | 90 | 48 |
| Mika Godts | Forward | 90 | 45 |
| Oscar Gloukh | Midfielder | 84 | 44 |
| Aaron Bouwman | Defender | 90 | 42 |
| Anton Gaaei | Defender | 90 | 41 |
| Kasper Dolberg | Forward | 71 | 40 |
| Jorthy Mokio | Midfielder | 71 | 38 |
| Youri Baas | Defender | 90 | 36 |
| Owen Wijndal | Defender | 84 | 26 |
| Rayane Bounida | Midfielder | 19 | no rating |
| Sean Steur | Midfielder | 19 | no rating |
| Kian Fitz-Jim | Midfielder | 6 | no rating |
| Oliver Edvardsen | Forward | 6 | no rating |
Did you know?
La Lente trivia questions about this match. Tap one to see the answer.
Which Villarreal player recovered the most balls?
Nicolas Pépé, with 7 recoveries. Next: Rafa Marín 5, Santiago Mouriño 5.
In the 1–2 home defeat to Ajax, Nicolas Pépé led Villarreal with 7 ball recoveries. Rafa Marín and Santiago Mouriño followed with 5 each.
Which Ajax player won the most duels?
Mika Godts, with 10 duels won. Next: Youri Regeer 8, Kasper Dolberg 3.
Mika Godts dominated individual battles in Ajax's 1–2 win over Villarreal, winning 10 duels. Youri Regeer followed with 8, while Kasper Dolberg won 3.
How is the rating calculated?
The rating measures a single match: what the player produced against what they cost, compared with the average for their position in that league and season, and adjusted by position (a 70 for a forward is as hard to get as a 70 for a defender). A normal match is around 50, 70 is already very good and only one in a hundred goes above 80. It is not the NVP, which ranks the whole season.
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