Villarreal drew against Real Madrid thanks to an unforgettable penalty by Bruno Soriano
Villarreal took away a very important point from the Santiago Bernabéu, in a match the Yellows defended well in and scored a beautiful goal thanks to the genius of their captain. Bruno Soriano scored right before the break with a perfectly chipped penalty. Then, Sergio Ramos scored for the home side with a good header at the start of the second half.
Fran Escribá opted for a team of five midfielders with Sansone as a lone striker. The defence was well organised and the Submarine played the ball around nicely when they had possession. The higher players were constantly looking to win the ball back and find spaces between the oppostion’s defence.
Although the Yellows were looking good it was Real Madrid that could have taken the lead early on with a great header by Benzema that was kept out by a stretching save from Asenjo (m. 18). From then on, it was Villarreal who were getting closer to Madrid’s box. And the Yellows chances came soon enough.
On the half an hour mark Cheryshev could have put the Yellows ahead after he was set up by a great back heel from Samu Castillejo, while only seconds later it was Sansone who just missed Casilla’s goal with an acrobatic volley from a corner.
The Yellows defensive organization kept the whites at bay. And the Submarine took advantage of this to keep pushing forward. Just before the first goal Sansone did a few step overs in the box before passing to Cheryshev who decided to cross the ball in instead of shoot himself.
In the last moments of the first half the 0-1 arrived. Trigueros got the ball on the edge of the box and had a great shot that hit Sergio Ramos’ hand clearly in the box. The referee pointed straight to the penalty spot. Bruno took responsibility and left a mark on one of the biggest stages in Spanish football. The Submarine captain stepped up and scored with a cheeky chip from the spot. Bravo.
The start of the second half brought with it bad news for the Yellows. Sergio Ramos headed home at the back post from a corner and evened up the score board at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Throughout the next 45 minutes the match script did not change. Villarreal defended brilliantly, while Real Madrid put plenty of crosses into the box with no success. The whites were met by a formidable Sergio Asenjo.
Line-ups:
Real Madrid CF: Casilla; Danilo, Varane, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo (Carvajal, m. 43); Kovacic, Kroos, James; Bale (Lucas Vázquez, m. 71), Benzema (Morata, m. 76) and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Villarreal CF: Asenjo; Mario, Musacchio, Víctor Ruiz, José Ángel; Bruno, Jonathan dos Santos (N’Diaye, m. 87), Trigueros, Castillejo, Cheryshev (Soriano, m. 63); and Sansone (Pato, m. 72).
Goals: 0-1. Min. 44: Bruno (penalty). 1-1. Min. 47: Sergio Ramos.
Referee: González González (Castellano-Leonés, Spain). Cautioned: Sergio Ramos, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kroos and Carvajal for the locals; José Ángel for the visitors.
Estadio: Santiago Bernabéu.
