The locals’ early goal and the sending off of Víctor Ruiz proved too much for Villarreal to come back from
Villarreal were unable to get their fourth consecutive win. The Submarine fell (1-0) to UD Las Palmas on their visit to the Estadio Gran Canaria, in a match in which the Yellows found themselves on the back foot from the start, after Boateng’s early goal and playing with ten men for more than 70 minutes as Víctor Ruiz was given a straight red early on.
Despite the defeat, Villarreal worked tirelessly, were extremely dedicated and on the brink of equalizing on several occasions. Nevertheless, the Yellows ended up losing and coming away with nothing from their visit to Las Palmas.
The match did not start well for Fran Escribá’s side. Despite the Yellows’ intense, quality start, it was the home side who took the lead through what was their first chance, Boateng heading home a Dani Castellano cross. Then, in the 19th minute, things got even more complicated as Víctor Ruiz was given a straight red after bringing down Boateng when the German was through to go one on one with Andrés.
After the goal, the locals were more in control of the match, attacking with momentum and looking dangerous every time they won the ball back in the middle. Andrés, alert between the posts, was called on to save the Yellows on three occasions, in which he kept out all three of the locals’ clear chances in a row. Despite the home side’s dominance, Fran Escribá’s men were not discouraged and looked to split Las Palmas with through balls, but being a man down made it difficult for the Submarine.
Villarreal started the second half well. They kept the ball in the opening minutes and approached the Las Palmas goal with purpose. In the 58th minute, Sansone almost evened things up. The Italian striker made space for himself on the edge of the box and hit a powerful shot at the Las Palmas goal, but Lizoain was equal to it and pushed the ball wide for a corner.
In the 64th minute, Trigueros forced Lizoain to make another brilliant, stretching save, as the centre midfielder hit a spectacular free kick from far out. His effort seemed to be going over but dipped fiercely at the last moment. Meanwhile, the home side were attacking dangerously on the counter, but the Submarine’s defence combined with the sturdy hands of Andrés Fernández kept the Gran Canarians at bay.
The Yellows Submarine, who substituted their being a man down with hard work and pure effort, were in the game until the final whistle, Bakambu nearly coming up with the goods in the 88th minute but his volley was wide of the mark. The equalizer never came though and Fran Escribá’s side were stumped.
Lineups:
UD Las Palmas: Lizoain; David Simón, Lemos, Bigas, Dani Castellano; Vicente Gómez, Roque Mesa, Viera; Tana (Halilovic, m. 81), Mateo García (Momo, m. 58) and Boateng (Jesé, m. 72).
Villarreal CF: Andrés Fernández; Mario, Musacchio, Víctor Ruiz, Jaume Costa; Jonathan dos Santos, Bruno, Trigueros, Samu Castillejo (Álvaro, m. 23); Soriano (Bakambu, m. 82) and Sansone (Santos Borré, m. 66).
Goal: 1-0. Min. 9: Boateng.
Referee: Iñaki Vicandi Garrido (Basque Country, Spain). Cautioned: Sansone (m. 22) and Jaume Costa (m. 75) for Villarreal and Jonathan Viera (m. 70), Lemos (m. 74) and Lizoain (m. 90) for Las Palmas. Sent off: Víctor Ruiz (m. 19).
Match Information: Match corresponding to Matchday 28 of the LaLiga Santander between UD Las Palmas and Villarreal CF played at the Estadio Gran Canaria in front of 18,717 spectators.
