The Yellows got back to winning ways after beating Granada with goals by Bruno and Álvaro
Villarreal got back to winning ways after putting in a solid performance against Granada CF, that swung in the Yellows’ favour thanks to goals by Bruno and Álvaro, one in each half of the tie.
The Submarine got more and more into the game as it went on and created plenty of chances from the off. Many chances and disallowed goals, as referee Álvarez Izquierdo disallowed goals by Castillejo and Sansone for offside in the first half.
Villarreal’s Italian-German striker, Nicola Sansone, was one of the most active players in the Yellow attack. He had the opening goal at his command on two occasions. In the first, he did not get his shot off quick enough, and his second was a spectacular free kick from the edge of the box that hit the crossbar.
The reward for the Yellows perseverance came in the 41st minute though. José Ángel put in a deep free kick to the far post which Álvaro got on the end of and knocked back to Bruno first time, and the captain made no mistake by firing home to open the scoring at the Estadio de la Cerámica.
It was the same story in the second half. Villarreal dominated possession of the ball and Granada tried to create danger on the counterattack.
In the 62nd minute our winter signing stepped onto the pitch. Adrián López shone in Yellow once again after his return to Villarreal on loan from FC Porto. The striker replaced Soriano, who played as a second striker today.
The second goal for the Submarine came in the 72nd minute. Álvaro finished off a brilliant performance by smashing home a loose ball in the six yard box. And there could even have been a third right at the end, after a beautiful lob by Adrián bounced off Ochoa’s crossbar. Unlucky.
In the end, it was a solid performance by the Yellow Submarine, helping to establish themselves in the European zone of the table. Next up is Sevilla at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán stadium (Sunday, 5th February at 12pm CET).
Lineups:
Villarreal CF: Asenjo; Mario, Bonera, Álvaro, José Ángel; Jonathan dos Santos, Bruno, Trigueros, Samu Castillejo (Leo Suárez, m. 79), Soriano (Adrián, m. 62); and Sansone (Rodrigo, m. 86).
Granada CF: Ochoa; Foulquier, Saunier (Kravets, m. 73), Ingason, G.Silva, Isaac Cuenca; Aly (Atzili, m. 80), Samper, Hongla; Adrián Ramos and E. Ponce (Boga, m. 59).
Goals: 1-0. Min. 41: Bruno. 2-0. Min. 72: Álvaro.
Referee: Álvarez Izquierdo (Catalonia, Spain). Cautioned: Álvaro, Soriano and José Ángel for the locals; Samper and G. Silva for the visitors.
Match Information: Match corresponding to Matchday 20 in the LaLiga Santander played at the Estadio de la Cerámica.
