The Yellows fall narrowly to Atlético de Madrid (1-0)
Villarreal CF finished as runners-up in the 29th LALIGA FC Futures International Tournament, held at the Estadio de Gran Canaria. The Yellows were edged out 1-0 by Atlético de Madrid in the final after producing an outstanding tournament overall.
Paco Peris’ side took the initiative in the final, but a goal from Jaime Carnicero in the 13th minute proved decisive for the Madrid outfit, who managed to hold on despite Villarreal’s pressure in the second half.
A brilliant road to the final
The Yellow Submarine reached the final after overcoming Valencia in the semi-finals (1-1, 3-1 on penalties) and thrashing Espanyol in the quarter-finals (1-5). Villarreal qualified for the knockout stages as winners of Group D after beating Sevilla FC (1-3), Valencia (1-2) and drawing with Inter Milan (2-2).
Until now, Villarreal CF had only reached the final of the LALIGA FC Futures International Tournament once before. On that occasion, in the 2011 edition held in Tenerife, the Yellows also fell to Atlético de Madrid (2-1).
Despite this, the Submarine have lifted the national edition of this prestigious tournament on three occasions — in 2007, 2016 and 2021 — an event they have hosted since 2015.
