Villarreal draw in an evenly-matched derby against Valencia at the Estadio de la Cerámica
The points were shared in an evenly-matched derby (1-1). Villarreal came close to a win against Valencia, but it slipped away from them in the final stages after they ran out of steam and conceded a goal from Sadiq. The Yellows, who were noticeably the better side in the first half and took the lead through Gueye’s wonder goal, were not at their best in the second half.
After a spectacular performance by Tambors de Passió de Almassora and an impressive welcome from the fans, who waved 20,000 flags to the sound of the official Villarreal CF anthem, the derby kicked off at the Estadio de la Cerámica.
It had everything to be a great match. A special atmosphere in the stands, the emotional component of a regional clash and a lot of quality on the pitch.
Spurred on by their fans, Villarreal came onto the pitch with a lot of energy, pressing high up the pitch and making it difficult for Valencia to get the ball out, while Corberán’s men tried to cool the game down a bit, leaving little space and allowing the minutes to pass.
Until the 25th minute, there were no great chances in the derby. The Submarine controlled the ball and moved it around in their opponents’ half, while the visitors, deep in their own half, waited for their chance to steal the ball and get into space.
It wasn’t until the half-hour mark that Pape Gueye came up with a brilliant piece of genius to open the game. The Senegalese midfielder, after a one-two with Yeremy Pino at the edge of the box, unleashed a devastating left-footed shot into the back of the net. A rocket straight to the far post. Impossible for Mamardashvili.
With the score at 1-0, the party resumed in the stands of La Cerámica, who were enjoying the superiority of their team in the regional derby. The game went into the break with the home side in the lead.
The second half started with more equality. With nothing to lose, Valencia took a step forward and the Submarine struggled to get into the game. On the hour mark and with no clear dominator in the game, Marcelino made a double substitution, bringing on Buchanan and Comesaña.
The Yellows were looking for a goal to put the game to bed. And they almost got it through Nicolas Pepe. The Ivorian forward had the ball in the back of the next but it was disallowed for offside by Buchanan.
With just five minutes to go, Valencia equalised through Umar Sadiq. The Nigerian capitalised on a rebound from Diego Conde to make it 1-1. Sadiq’s strike was preceded by a shot from Rafa Mir, who found himself alone in front of the goalkeeper after receiving a forward pass into space between centre-back and full-back.
After the visitors equalised, Villarreal could not and did not know how to react. They had no fuel left after a great physical effort. The 1-1 scoreline did not move.
