Villarreal saw off Kazakhstani outfit Astana 3-1 in their Europa League group stage opener on Thursday night.
With the score at 1-1, Bakambu scored the pivotal goal for the La Liga club shortly after coming off the bench.
In the 74th minute, the striker burst towards the penalty area before being cynically tripped up by Astana defender Yuri Logvinenko. But with both teams half expecting referee Srdjan Jovanovic to blow his whistle, he waved play on instead.
So, the Congo international neatly flicked the ball onto his other foot while on the ground before rising to unleash a fine curled effort into the bottom corner.
Bakambu's first goal of the season for the Yellow Submarine unlocked the contest, while former Real Madrid winger Denis Cheryshev wrapped it up with a strike two minutes later to secure three points.
