Villarreal fall to Leganés (1-0) so will have to comeback in the second leg to progress in the Copa del Rey
Villarreal are already thinking about the comeback. The Yellow Submarine lost to Leganés at the Butarque stadium by the narrowest of margins after a goal by Amrabat (1-0) was enough to give the home side the advantage in the first leg of the Round of 16 cup tie. As a result, the Yellows will have to make a comeback next Wednesday to go through to the next round of the Copa del Rey. It was the first match of 2018 and unfortunately Villarreal were not able to kick the year off with a win.
Javi Calleja put out a starting eleven with some changes, mixing youth with experience. Young defender Pau started at centre back and Rukavina at left back. Ramiro Guerra and Manu Trigueros started in centre midfield, with the speed of Castillejo and Cheryshev on the wings. Raba and Enes Ünal started up front, who is back with the Yellow Subamrine after coming back from his loan spell at Levante UD.
In the first half there weren’t many good chances. The Submarine had two of their own with a couple of dangerous balls into the box by Cheryshev from the left wing, but neither found the contact of a Villarreal boot. The Yellows knocked the ball around waiting to exploit an opening in the Leganés back line. Trigueros distributed the ball well from the middle of the park, playing quality through balls for the forwards to get on the end of, but with no luck.
The side from Madrid took the lead just after the restart. Amrabat made the most of a long ball forward, striking the ball past Barbosa and into the near corner of the net (1-0, m. 49). The Submarine reacted immediately. Cheryshev got away from his defender and crossed the ball in to Ünal whose effort went wide, crashing into the side netting. Then, Samu Castillejo played a through ball to Raba but the youngster’s shot was also wide of the mark.
This result means that Villarreal will have to make a comeback next Wednesday 10th January at the Estadio de la Cerámica (7:30pm CET) to enable them to go forward in the Copa del Rey.
Lineups:
CD Leganés: Champagne; Tito, Bustinza, Siovas, Raúl García; El Zhar (Mantovani, m. 88), Rubén Pérez (Eraso, m. 46), Gumbau, José Naranjo; Gabriel and Amrabat (Beauvue, m. 56).
Villarreal CF: Barbosa; Mario, Álvaro, Pau, Rukavina; Castillejo, Ramiro (Rodrigo, m. 74), Trigueros, Cheryshev (Fornals, m. 66); Raba and Enes Ünal (Bacca, m. 60).
Goal: 1-0. Min. 50: Amrabat.
Referee: Sánchez Martínez (Murcia, Spain). Cautioned: Rubén Pérez y Siovas for Leganés; Álvaro for Villarreal.
Match Information: Match corresponding to the first leg of the Copa del Rey played at the Butarque stadium.
