Villarreal pick up a point away from home against Sevilla after a great performance by the Yellows
Villarreal pick up their first point of the season against Sevilla (0-0) and at the ever-difficult Sánchez-Pizjuán stadium at that. The Yellows stuck to their style and showed their outstanding work rate on a very hot evening in the south of Spain. In the end, it was a match with lots of chances and a great game that just lacked goals.
The Yellow Submarine had a great first half, getting better and better as the game went on and creating more chances than Sevilla. However, the locals came out strong and were the first to have a clear chance on goal with a powerful strike by Roque Mesa in the 7th minute, but Asenjo, as alert as ever, was equal to it.
Villarreal were solid at the back, not letting Sevilla through, who had another great chance in the 18th minute through André Silva. As the game settled, it was the Submarine who took control of the possession of the ball before the first quarter of an hour of play.
Well organised and showing a lot of character away from home, Javi Calleja’s men controlled the middle of the park and started to close in on Vaclik’s goal. The first to try his luck was Fornals with a long range shot, his effort did not find the mark but it acted as a warning for an array of Villarreal chances that were to come.
And all of them fell to the boots of the same man. Toko Ekambi. The Yellow number 17 was very active in the first half and had up to three clear chances to put the Yellows ahead. The French-Cameroonian striker hit two powerful shots from point-blank range that Vaclik just kept out.
The second half was a fine display of football by both teams. With a quick start, the chances did not take long to come, but the defenders and goalkeepers kept their opposition at bay.
In the 67th minute Villarreal had one of their best chances of the game when Bacca, after getting on the end of a long ball forward, went through one on one against Vaclik, but the Czech goalkeeper read the Colombian striker’s intentions well and made a save at the last second.
Sevilla also had a chance to take the lead in the final minutes, Ben Yedder hit the post after a spectacular save by Asenjo to keep it 0-0.
Lineups:
- Sevilla FC: Vaclik; Mercado, Kjaer, Sergi Gómez; Navas, Roque Mesa, Banega (Aleix Vidal, m. 62), Escudero (Ben Yedder, m. 83); Sarabia, Vázquez (Gonalons, m. 62) and André Silva.
- Villarreal CF: Asenjo; Mario Gaspar, Álvaro, Víctor Ruiz, Pedraza; Pablo Fornals (Jaume Costa, m. 61), Cáseres, Trigueros, Santi Cazorla (Raba, m. 78); Ekambi (Bacca, m. 61) and Gerard Moreno.
- Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco. Cautioned: Mario (m. 4) and Jaume Costa (m. 87) for Villarreal and Mercado (m. 43), Sarabia (m. 80) and Kjaer (m. 92) for Sevilla.
- Match Information: Match corresponding to Matchday 2 of LaLiga between Sevilla FC and Villarreal CF played at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán in front of 35,831 spectators.
