The Submarine held to a goalless draw against Leganés (0-0)

Villarreal took away a point from their visit to the Municipal Butarque stadium against Leganés (0-0). The Yellows were well organized and got better and better as the game went on, but did not have many goal scoring opportunities. With this draw, the Submarine move up to 23 points and will be hosting Steaua Bucuresti at El Madrigal stadium this Thursday (5pm), in their quest to go through to the next round of the Europa League.

Although the opening minutes of the duel were very much a tactical battle, chances for both teams did not take long to come. In the 10^th minute, Villarreal were the first to create danger, with two chances in the white and blue box. With no goals to show from their attempts, the reaction from the locals was immediate. Mantovani had a great shot, but Asenjo, who was well positioned, was equal to it.

The fight was predominantly in the middle of the park for the first half an hour of the match, with Leganés pressuring high to prevent the Yellows attacking. In the 27^th minute, it was Asenjo again who kept out another effort from the locals, this time one on one against Luciano, who was put through on goal after good play by Omar Ramos.

Villarreal started the second half strongly. In the 46^th minute, Castillejo tested Herrerín with a blistering shot from the edge of the area, but the locals’ goalkeeper pushed the number 19’s bullet wide for a corner kick. With their game plan clear, Fran Escribá’s men had possession of the ball and started to play it around Leganés.

Although the opportunities came in dribs and drabs, Villarreal’s dominance meant they could relax on the ball and explore their attacking options, but the locals, although somewhat more tired than in the first half, defended well. Three minutes from the end, the Submarine’s best chance came with a rocket of a shot from Santos Borré from outside the box. His powerful strike almost caught Herrerín out, but the local goalkeeper made a stretching save at the last second.

Lineups:

• CD Leganés: Iago Herrerín; Bustinza, Insua, Mantovani, Víctor Díaz; Alberto (Rubén Pérez, m.57), Timor; Machís, Gabriel, Omar Ramos (Unai López, m.69); and Luciano (Guerrero, m.76).
• Villarreal CF: Asenjo; Mario, Musacchio, Víctor Ruiz, Jaume Costa; Castillejo (Santos Borré, m.79), Rodrigo, Trigueros, Soriano (Jonathan dos Santos, m.70); Pato (Bakambu, m.67) and Sansone.
• Referee: Mario Melero López (Andalusia, Spain). Cautioned: Gabriel (m.16), Omar Ramos (m.28), Alberto (m.41), Timor (m.51), Insua (m.51) and Bustinza (m. 56) for Leganés, and Jaume Costa (m.18), Mario (m.35) and Soriano (m.64) for Villarreal.
• Match information: Match corresponding to Matchday 14 of the La Liga Santander between CD Leganés and Villarreal CF, played at the Estadio Municipal de Butarque. Before the match, the stadium held a minute’s silence in memory of the victims of the plane crash involving the Chapecoense football team.