Match Report
Astana went into the game 2nd in the table on 10 points; Villarreal sat 1st on 11 — a 1-point gap. The last five rounds placed Villarreal no better than 14th for form, against 1st in the standings. Per game in the league, Astana were scoring 1.67 and conceding 1.17, Villarreal 1.67 and 1, against a competition average of 1.32 goals per team per game.
Astana Arena in Nur-Sultan, capacity 23,804, hosted the game. Half-time and full-time told different stories: it was 1-1 at the break, before 3 more goals closed it at 2-3.