Villarreal draw with Maccabi Tel Aviv on Javi Calleja’s debut as Yellows boss
Villarreal picked up a point on their visit to Maccabi Tel Aviv in a goalless draw against the Israeli side on Matchday 2 of the Group stage of the UEFA Europa League. Javi Calleja made his debut as Villarreal Manager very positively, as the team did not suffer defensively and created some dangerous chances in front of goal.
The Yellows boss put out a starting eleven with a few new faces on a very uneven pitch at the Netanya stadium and also opted for a different formation. The Submarine set up in a midfield diamond, youngster Ramiro Guerra holding at the back, Fornals and Trigueros on the wings and Roberto Soriano at the top. A special mention must be given to Ramiro Guerra, who made his debut for the Villarreal first team in an official match.
Villarreal knew that the other match in Group A, between Astana and Slavia Praga, had finished in a draw (1-1), for which reason the win was worth pure gold.
The Yellows, wearing red on this occasion due to the home side wearing yellow, aimed to keep possession of the ball. Villarreal knocked the ball around well in search of a gap in the Maccabi back line and they found it, even scoring in the first half, but the goal was disallowed as Bakambu was deemed to have used his hand to get by Rajkovic.
As the game went on, the Yellow Submarine got better and better. Bakambu came close to opening the scoring after some great team play. Bacca crossed the ball in to Fornals at the back post and the Yellows number 8 pulled the ball back to Bakambu in the middle of the box, but the French-Congolese striker’s effort went just wide.
The Yellows were creating chances. Trigueros was the next player to come close to breaking the deadlock. The centre midfielder dribbled into the box and got his shot off quickly, but the Israeli goalkeeper made a fine save, tipping the ball around the far post.
The second half started with a controversial call. Soriano went down in the box after a clash with Davidzada, but the English official did not give a penalty.
Villarreal were solid at the back and were creating chances. The best chance of the game fell to the feet of Carlos Bacca. Bakambu whipped a powerful across the six-yard box, but Bacca was unable to hit the back of the net with his shot rocketing past the wrong side of the front post. Trigueros also tried his luck with a turn and a shot in the box, but Rajkovic was equal to it. Lastly, Samu Castillejo surprised the locals with a brilliant shot from far out that bounced back of the post.
In the end, the two sides had to share the points and Villarreal remain top of Group A in the UEFA Europa League with four points, the same as Slavia Praga. And the Czech side are the Yellows’ next opponents in the competition (19th October, Estadio de la Cerámica).
Lineups:
Maccabi Tel Aviv: Rajkovic; Shpungin, Babin, Ben Haim, Davidzada; Blackman, Susic (Peretz, m. 62), Yeini, Battocchio; Kjartansson (Itzhaki, m. 86) and Atar (Atzili, m. 65).
Villarreal CF: Barbosa; Mario, Bonera, Víctor Ruiz, Jaume Costa; Fornals, Ramiro, Trigueros (Rodrigo, m. 81), Soriano (S. Castillejo, m. 68); Bakambu and Bacca (Enes Ünal, m. 74).
Referee: Craig Pawson (ENG). Cautioned: Blackman and Itzhaki for Maccabi; Jaume Costa for Villarreal.
Match Information: Match corresponding to Matchday 2 of the Group stage of the UEFA Europa League at the Netanya stadium, played in front of 11,865 spectators.
