The Submarine lose to Real Madrid late on and end the LaLiga seventh ahead of the UEFA Europa League final
Villarreal lost to Real Madrid (2-1) in Valdebebas. The Yellows were defeated despite winning until the 85th minute. Late goals from Karim Benzema and Luka Modric overturned the initial Yeremy Pino goal. The defeat to Los Blancos, accompanied by results that went against the Yellows elsewhere, means that the Submarine finish the season seventh with 58 points. The next game for Villarreal will be the UEFA Europa League final on Wednesday 26th May in Gdansk.
The Submarine signed off their league season at the Alfredo Di Stefáno Stadium. The Yellows were facing a Real Madrid side who were playing for the LaLiga title. Unai Emery lined up with a recognisable starting XI made up of: Rulli; Mario Gaspar, R. Albiol, Pau, A. Pedraza; Yeremy, Capoue, Parejo, M. Trigueros; Gerard and Bacca.
The Yellows knew a place in the UEFA Europa League was up for grabs. It wasn’t an easy objective, as the Submarine needed to get a good result against Real Madrid and rely on results in Pamplona and Vigo, where Real Sociedad and Real Betis were playing, respectively.
Despite the difficult situation, Villarreal took to the pitch full of determination to get the win. In the 20th minute, a fantastic piece of combination play between Mario Gaspar, Gerard Moreno and Yeremy saw Villarreal score. The Canarian attacker brought down a Gerard ball brilliantly, to finish calmly past Thibaut Courtois. The Submarine were ahead in Valdebebas.
Emery’s side were comfortable in the first half. They had the ball and were controlling the game. With half an hour on the clock, Carlos Bacca could have increased the leader after getting on the end of an Alfonso Pedraza cross. The Colombian striker controlled the ball but was unable to get a shot away.
Real Madrid had their best chance just before half-time. Casemiro headed a Modric corner straight at Gero Rulli.
The home side dominated at the start of the second half. Their title hopes pushed Real Madrid to step forward looking for the goal. In the 55th minute, Benzema beat Rulli with a great header that did not go on the scoreboard because the French striker was offside.
Villarreal found the opening moments of the second half difficult. Emery’s side struggled to get control of the ball and were not dangerous on the counter-attack. Emery looked to the bench, bringing on Rubén Peña and Francis Coquelin for Bacca and Étienne Capoue.
From the 70th minute, the tempo dropped. Real Madrid continued dominating the play, but with less intensity against a Villarreal side who had long spells of possession after robbing the ball from Los Blancos. In the 80th minute, more fresh legs came on, with Paco Alcácer and Dani Raba replacing Gerard and Yeremy for the closing stages.
In just five minutes, Real Madrid turned the game around. A Benzema goal and another by Modric late on gave them the victory.
With 38 games gone, Villarreal finish the season seventh with 58 points. The Yellows will play in the UEFA Europa Conference League next season should they not win next Wednesday in Gdansk.
Lineups:
Real Madrid: Cuortois; Odriozola (Mariano, m. 68), E. Militao, R. Varane, Miguel (Nacho, m. 68); Modric, Casemiro (Marcelo, m. 68), Valverde; Asensio (Rodrygo, m. 58), Benzemá, Vini Jr (Isco, m. 58).
Villarreal CF: Rulli; Mario Gaspar, R. Albiol, Pau, A. Pedraza; Yeremy (Dani Raba, m. 80), Capoue (Coquelin, m. 65), Parejo, M. Trigueros; Gerard (Paco Alcácer, m. 80), Bacca (R. Peña, m. 65).
Goals: 0-1. Min. 20: Yeremy. 1-1. Min. 85: Benzema. 2-1. Min. 91: Modric.
Referee: Munuera Montero.
Matchday information: Game between Real Madrid and Villarreal CF corresponding to Matchday 38 of LaLiga Santander 20/21 at the Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium.
