The Yellows beat Levante convincingly and move into fifth in the table
Villarreal beat Levante UD convincingly (1-5) at the Ciutat de València. The Yellows put in an impressive performance, both playing well and scoring a lot of goals as they returned to league action. Unai Emery’s side continued their good form from Europe in the league and moved into fifth after Real Betis and Real Sociedad failed to win.
Emery made a number of changes to Villarreal’s starting XI to face Levante at the Ciutat de València, five in total from the Yellows’ last outing, in the UEFA Europa League. Sergio Asenjo, Mario Gaspar, Francis Coquelin, Moi Gómez and Carlos Bacca returned to the starting lineup.
Villarreal started the game in a higher gear than their opponents. From the opening moments of the tie, they took control of the ball and were capable of creating danger. Before the first quarter of an hour, it was already 0-2 to the Yellows.
The first goal came from a great piece of play from Mario Gaspar down the right. The captain ended up crossing the ball, while Postigo sent it into his own net (8’). The second goal was a piece of magic by Gerard, who after a great run, got into the box, and with a lovely bit of skill got away from Duarte to send the ball into the back of the net with a great placed effort (12’).
The Submarine were in complete control of the game until an error in playing the ball out from the back led to a Levante goal. Malsa won the ball back on the edge of the box, and ended up one-on-one with Asenjo and cut the away side’s lead.
The opening minutes of the second half were much more equal. Levante took a step forward, looking for the draw, while Villarreal, who knew how to slow the game down, tried to score a crucial third on the counter-attack. The balance between the two sides only lasted around ten minutes, before the Yellows took control again.
In the 63rd minute, a quick piece of play between Gerard, Paco Alcácer and Samu Chukwueze ended in the Submarine’s third goal. The Catalan forward played a long ball over the top for the Valencian striker, who, controlled the ball perfectly and played it for the Nigerian to calmly beat Aitor Fernández.
With 70 minutes on the clock, the Yellows were in complete control. An Alcácer shot blocked by Fernández ended up in an goal after hitting Rubén Vezo. It was the Yellows’ fourth. Their fifth arrived just three minutes later. After a great run by the Nigerian to get away from his markers, the Yellows No.11 got on the edge of a ball over the home defenders and finished calmly.
With the outcome decided, the closing moments of the game saw a number of players get a rest after featuring for a lot of minutes in recent weeks.
Lineups:
Levante UD: Aitor Fernández; Coke (Rubén Vezo, m. 80), O. Duarte (Dani Gómez, m, 70), Postigo, C. Clerc; Bardhi, Malsa (Doukouré, m. 78), Rochina (Melero, m. 70); De Frutos (Son, m. 78), Roger, Morales.
Villarreal CF: S. Asenjo; Mario Gaspar, Foyth, Pau, A. Pedraza; Chukwueze (Yeremy, m. 80), Coquelin (Capoue, m. 73), Parejo (Rubén Peña, m. 80), Moi Gómez; Gerard (M. Trigueros, m. 73), Bacca (Paco Alcácer, m. 45).
Goals: 0-1. Min 8: Postigo (OG). 0-2. Min. 12: Gerard. 1-2. Min. 21: Malsa. 1-3. Min. 62: Chukwueze. 1-4. Min. 71: Rubén Vezo (OG) 1-5. Min. 74: Chukwueze.
Referee: De Burgos Bengoetxea. Booked: Roger, Clerc (Levante UD); Coquelin (Villarreal).
Matchday information: Game between Levante UD and Villarreal CF, corresponding to Matchday 33 of the 2020/21 LaLiga Santander season at the Ciutat de València. A minute’s silence was held in memory of Antonio Calpe, former Levante UD player.
