Villarreal come back at the Reale Arena to clinch their third consecutive win on a ‘Reyes’ night to remember
What a win! Villareal CF came out on top against Real Sociedad (1-2) in a magnificent match that saw the Yellows come from behind at the Reale Arena to beat one of the best teams in the league. Goals by Manu Trigueros, from the penalty spot, and Santi Cazorla gave the Yellows the win, making it three wins on the bounce for the Submarine. Real Sociedad’s goal was scored by Willian José.
Yellows boss, Javi Calleja, opted for the same starting eleven that picked up victories against Sevilla FC (1-2) and Getafe CF (1-0). Setting up in a 4-4-2 formation with Mario Gaspar, Raúl Albiol, Pau Torres and Quintillà as the back four. Manu Trigueros came back in to pull the strings in the midfield, accompanied by the strength of Iborra, the versatility of Anguissa and the quality of Moi Gómez. Up top, Gerard Moreno led the front line alongside Chukwueze. Between the posts for the Yellows was Spain international, Sergio Asenjo.
The side from San Sebastián came out strong. They took control of the possession of the ball and tried to break through the Yellows’ organised back line. Nevertheless, before the 10th minute of play, Villarreal surprised the locals with a few good attacking plays.
In the 12th minute, Real Sociedad had the first clear chance of the game. Sergio Asenjo came off his line and made himself big enough to block Portu’s shot inside the box. Ten minutes later, Imanol Alguacil’s side took the lead. Willian José converted Portu’s assist in a good team play by the home team.
Javi Calleja’s men started better in the second half. In the 54th minute, Manu Trigueros played a brilliant ball forward into the path of Samu Chukwueze, who after a great run towards goal was clearly taken out in the box by Zubeldia. The referee pointed straight to the penalty spot, but didn’t show a yellow card to the Real Sociedad defender.
Manu Trigueros stepped up and deceived Remiro with his penalty kick to equalise for Villarreal. 1-1 on the scoreboard, the Yellows boss made a double substitution, throwing Cazorla and Alberto Moreno into the game.
And it didn’t take long for the Villarreal No.8 to leave his mark on the match with a bit of magic at the Reale Arena. In the 75th minute, Cazorla brought the ball down int he box and, despite the tight angle, managed to hit a perfectly placed strike into the far bottom corner to give the Yellows the lead. After some uncertainty as to whether Cazorla was offside in the play, the referee waited for the VAR revision before confirming the goal.
After what seemed like an age of solid defending by Villarreal, the referee finally blew his whistle in the 97th minute. The Yellow Submarine came away with all three points from the Reale Arena which put them in the running for European spots.
Lineups:
Real Sociedad: Remiro; Zaldua, Llorente, Zubeldia (Le Normand, m. 61), Monreal; Merino, Guevara (Januzaj, m. 76), Odeegard; Portu, Oyarzabal and Willian José (Isak, m. 70)
Villarreal CF: S. Asenjo; Mario Gaspar, R. Albiol, Pau, Quintillà (Alberto M., m. 60); Iborra, M. Trigueros, Anguissa, Moi Gómez (S. Cazorla, m. 60); Chukwueze (R. Peña, m. 81) and Gerard.
Goals: 1-0. Min. 22: Willian José. 1-1. Min. 57: M. Trigueros (p). 1-2. Min. 75: S. Cazorla.
Referee: José María Sánchez Martínez. Booked: Zubeldia, Guevara, Zaldua, Januzaj and Portu for Real Sociedad; Pau, Mario Gaspar, Alberto M. and R. Albiol for Villarreal.
Information: Match between Real Sociedad and Villarreal CF corresponding to Matchday 19 of LaLiga 2019/20 played at the Reale Arena in front of 31,538 spectators.
