Villarreal lose to the English side in their last pre-season friendly, on a day when Nicolas Pepe made his debut for the club
Villarreal ended their pre-season preparations with a 4-0 defeat against Brighton, on a day when Nicolas Pepe made his debut for the club. The Yellows could have taken the lead just 30 seconds in, as Arnaut Danjuma latched onto a brilliant Denis Suárez pass, but the Yellows’ number nine saw his shot come back off the post.
The English side went ahead after 14 minutes. Joao Pedro picked up the ball on the edge of the area and struck an unstoppable shot past Diego Conde. Unstoppable.
The Yellows were undeterred and continued playing out from the back. With Danjuma proving a real livewire up front, Villarreal continued pressing for an equalizer, and Yeremy Pino went close with a fierce effort. With 39 minutes on the clock, Brighton doubled their lead. Welbeck picked up a through ball and made no mistake against Diego Conde.
Denis Suárez’s injury
The worst news from the match came shortly after the start of the second half. Denis Suárez was forced off through injury on 53 minutes.
Brighton went close to making it 3-0 just moments later. Jeremy Sarmiento’s brilliant shot was met with an outstanding Diego Conde save.
Nicolas Pepe’s first match
With an hour on the clock, Nicolas Pepe came on to make his Villarreal CF debut. The Ivory Coast forward replaced teammate Santi Comesaña.
Brighton were 3-0 after 69 minutes. After a series of excellent stops, Diego Conde was unable to prevent Yankuba Minteh’s strike. Welbeck was on hand against to make it 4-0, this time from the penalty spot on 85 minutes.
Nicolas Pepe came so close to scoring his first goal for the club just minutes before the end. Bursting down the line at speed, he cut in and his left-footed effort was met by a miraculous save from Jason Steele.
This result sees the Yellow Submarine bring the pre-season preparations to an end. Their next match will be the first fixture of the LALIGA EA Sports season, against Atlético de Madrid at the Estadio de la Cerámica (Monday 19th August).
Match sheet:
Brighton & Hove Albion: Steele; Barco, Dunk, Van Hecke, Veltman, Milner, Wieffer, Mitoma, Welbeck, Joao Pedro and Minteh.
Also played: Sarmiento, Webster, Ayari, Hinshelwood, Baleba, Moran, Cozier-Duberry and O’Mahony.
Villarreal CF: Diego Conde: Kiko Femenía, Albiol, Bailly, Sergi Cardona; Yeremy, Parejo, Comesaña, Denis Suárez; Terrats and Danjuma.
Also played: Gerard, Pepe, Gueye, Kambwala, Pau Navarro, Pau Cabanes y Altimira.
Goals: 1-0. Min. 14: Joao Pedro. 2-0. Min. 39: Welbeck. 3-0. Min. 69: Minteh. 4-0. Min. 85: Welbeck, penalty.
Referee: Steve Martin (England).
Estadio: American Express Stadium.
