Villarreal come back from a 0-2 deficit vs SK Slavia Prague with goals by Trigueros and Bacca
Villarreal deserved more. For bravery and good football. Villarreal drew against SK Slavia Prague in a match that became an uphill struggle after two goals by the Czech side before the half an hour mark. The Submarine reacted quickly though, pulling two goals back before the break, with strikes by Trigueros and Bacca, to equalise.
Javi Calleja made up to six changes in his starting eleven with respect to Villarreal’s last lineup that beat Girona 1-2 this past weekend. Rukavina, Bonera, Ramiro, Soriano, Bacca and Enes Ünal all came into the team and the Manager opted for the same 4-4-2 formation with a midfield diamond.
The Submarine dominated from the start, but the Yellows found themselves down by two goals only half an hour in to the game. Villarreal piled the pressure on upfront, but struggled to create any danger for Lastuvka.
The Czech side took the lead in the first quarter of an hour. Necid headed to ball into the bottom corner from a deep cross, out of Barbosa’s reach (0-1). Villarreal, surprised by the blow, kept pushing forward without any luck. Then, against the run of play again, Danny entered the box alone and converted a driven, pulled back cross from the right wing (0-2, m. 29).
The Submarine went in search of a goal in earnest. And they got it. In the 41st minute Fornals played a great long ball over to Trigueros that put him through one on one with Lastuvka. Trigueros kept a cool head and calmly placed the ball under the Slavia goalkeeper (1-2). All out attack!
Just two minutes later the equaliser came (2-2). Bonera crossed the ball in from the right, Bacca brought the ball down brilliantly and with his second touch smashed it past Lastuvka into the right side of the goal. The Estadio de la Cerámica went mad. Two goals, in three magical minutes.
The Yellows continued to dominate the match in the second half. Fornals, had a double chance that Slavia kept out, Enes Ünal had a couple of chances with his head but was off target and Bakambu, just after coming on, came close to scoring the third too.
Bacca also had a great chance to win it in the 67th minute. A fantastic counterattack by the Yellows finished with Bacca attempting to place his shot inside the far post, but Lastuvka made a stretching save to tip the ball around the post and out for a corner kick.
Lineups:
Villarreal CF: Barbosa; Rukavina, Bonera, Víctor Ruiz, Jaume Costa; Fornals (Samu Castillejo, m. 77), Trigueros, Ramiro, Soriano (Cheryshev, m. 46); Bacca and Enes Ünal (Bakambu, m. 59).
SK Slavia Prague: Lastuvka; Frydrych, Deli (Boril, m. 46), Jugas, Sobol; Soucek, Hromada; Sykora (Stoch, m. 83), Danny, Zmrhal (Van Buren, m. 67); and Necid.
Goals: 0-1. Min. 17: Necid. 0-2. Min. 29: Danny. 1-2. Min. 41: Trigueros. 2-2. Min. 43: Bacca.
Referee: Svein Oddvar Moen (Norway). Cautioned: Soriano, Ramiro and Jaume Costa for Villarreal; Boril for Slavia Prague.
Match Information: Match corresponding to Matchday 3 of the Group stage of the UEFA Europa League played at the Estadio de la Cerámica in front of 15,634 fans. A minute of silence was held in memory of the victims of those that lost their lives in the Galicia fires and the players wore black armbands as a sign of respect.
