Villarreal beat Alavés and keep a clean sheet in a match that paid tribute to the victims of the flooding in Valencia
Villarreal won again at La Cerámica (3-0). The Yellows defeated Deportivo Alavés to score an important and well-deserved victory, which strengthens their position in the Champions League spots. For the first time this season, Marcelino’s men kept a clean sheet. The only negative note of the afternoon was the worrying injury to Ilias Akhomach shortly after scoring a truly great goal in the first half. The other two goals were scored by Dani Parejo (from the penalty spot) and Santi Comesaña.
The Submarine returned to action after the tragic storm that hit our territory and caused hundreds of deaths in the towns south of Valencia.
After this catastrophe, Villarreal CF organized a series of ceremonial acts as a tribute. Both teams took to the pitch wearing a commemorative t-shirt with the message “Força València” (Stay Strong Valencia), accompanied by a black ribbon as a sign of mourning. In addition, in the center circle of the pitch, a large Valencian ‘senyera’, the flag of our autonomous region, was displayed.
Before the starting whistle, a minute of silence was held while the anthem of the Region of Valencia was played, which moved all the fans. As a culmination to this tribute orchestrated by Villarreal CF, the team wore an all-black kit, playing for the first time in its history at the Estadio de la Cerámica. The captain, Raúl Albiol, wore a senyera armband.
Despite the unfamiliar kit the players wore, Villarreal wanted to be their usual team at La Cerámica. A brave, direct and attacking side, the hallmarks of the identity that Marcelino asks of his players.
Midway through the first half, the first setback for the home side arrived. Kiko Femenía was forced to make a substitution after picking up an injury, which led Marcelino to bring on the young Pau Navarro.
The first chance of the game fell in favour of the away side. Kike García’s shot hit the crossbar after an extraordinary intervention by Diego Conde. The rebound was cleared off the line by Pau Navarro acrobatically.
Although the Submarine had not found enough clarity to create any great chances, before the break, a brilliant strike from Ilias Akhomach meant the first goal of the game. The Moroccan winger opened the scoring with a powerful left-footed shot at the far post defended by Sivera. The Yellows’ No.11 received the ball from Pepe with his back to goal. He twisted and turned with great class and fired in the shot to make it 1-0. He celebrated with class, showing the camera the ‘Força València’ t-shirt.
A few minutes later, Akhomach was fouled and looked to pick up a knee injury as he fell. The young winger was unable to continue. He left the pitch on a stretcher, covering his face with his shirt. A gesture that left the Villarreal CF fans worried.
In the second half, Yeremy Pino came on to replace Ilias Akhomach. The Yellows faced the added time of the first half with ten players in order not to use a second substitution window.
The Yellows wanted to take advantage of the spaces left by Alavés when they tried to stretch and look for the opposing goal. A counter-attack ended in a goal by Nicolas Pepe, but the referee disallowed the goal for offside by Ayoze. Later, just after the hour mark, Pepe was again offside and was denied a great goal from the edge of the area.
In the 70th minute, Marcelino refreshed the team, bringing on Santi Comesaña and Thierno Barry to replace Pape Gueye and Nicolas Pepe. With ten minutes to go, Dani Parejo made it 2-0, scoring from the spot after a penalty for handball by an Alavés defender. Santi Comesaña scored the third and definitive goal of the match, with time running out.
