Villarreal drew against Elche in a match they could have won after being 0-2 up at half-time
Villarreal came away from their visit to the Estadio Martínez Valero with a point against Elche (2-2). The Yellows were brilliant in the first half, thanks to a stellar Gerard Moreno performance, with the forward scoring a brace on his return to the pitch. In the second half, Elche were better and managed to draw level, denying the Submarine a win.
Villarreal arrived in Alicante without much time to recover from the 120 minutes last Wednesday against Levante UD in the Copa del Rey. To try and overcome the tiredness, Unai Emery made two big changes: Gerard returned, while Jaume Costa came in at right-back.
Gerard was back and Emery’s side was full of joy in the first half. With 15 minutes on the clock, the Yellows’ top scorer put the Submarine ahead. The Catalan striker finished in style one-on-one with Badía, after a lovely assist from Paco Alcácer from a lovely move, started by Manu Trigueros.
In the 24th minute, after a strong challenge by Lucas Boyé, Francis Coquelin was unable to continue and was replaced by Juan Foyth.
The Submarine could have extended their lead through Alcácer, with half an hour on the clock. The Valencian striker’s shot was denied by Badía, after a lovely pass from Deep by Trigueros.
Villarreal did get their second though, once more from Gerard. The Yellows’ No.7 finished a lovely team move, started by Moi Gómez.
Elche started the second half better than the Yellows. They got one back thanks to a Guido Carrillo header five minutes after the break. In the 64th minute, they equalised through Boyé, who sent a rebound home, after Rigoni’s free-kick had hit the woodwork.
Villarreal could have got their winner on various occasions late on. Raúl Albiol headed a corner just over the bar, while Trigueros’ shot from the edge of the area was off target.
Lineup:
Elche CF: Edgar Badía; Cifuentes, Diego González, Josema, Mojica; Josan, Iván Marcone, Raúl Guti, Rigoni; Lucas Boyé, Carrillo (Pere Milla, m. 78).
Villarreal CF: S. Asenjo; J. Costa (Estupiñán, m. 72), R. Albiol, Pau, A. Pedraza (Bacca, m. 74); M. Trigueros, Coquelin (Foyth, m. 24), Parejo; Gerard (Yeremy, m. 50), Paco Alcácer, Moi Gómez.
Goals: 0-1. Min. 15: Gerard. 0-2. Min. 35: Gerard. 1-2. Min. 49: Carrillo. 2-2. Min. 64: Lucas Boyé
Referee: Melero López. Booked: Lucas Boyé (Elche) A. Pedraza, M. Trigueros (Villarreal).
Match information: Game between Elche CF and Villarreal CF, corresponding to LaLiga Matchday 22 at the Estadio Martínez Valero.
