Villarreal beat Victoria CF to move into Round 2 of the Copa del Rey
Villarreal CF beat Galician minnows Victoria CF at Riazor (0-8) and sealed their place in the Round 2 of the Copa del Rey. The goals from Alberto Moreno (x2), Aïssa Mandi, Paco Alcácer, Samu Chukwueze, Gerard Moreno, Boulaye Dia and Nikita Iosifov. As well as the Russian, Adrián de la Fuente and Dani Tasende also made their first-team debuts.
The Submarine started their journey in the knockout tournament facing Victoria CF in a historic stadium, Riazor. Unai Emery used the game against the Galician side to make rotations and give minutes to footballers who hadn’t played as much. Dela, Villarreal B’s defender, made his debut with the first team in Galicia.
Emery’s side were better than their opposition, who, through hard work, kept the score goalless for the first 15 minutes. Alberto Moreno broke the deadlock, scoring twice in less than five minutes, to decant the tie in the Yellows’ favour. The first goal came after a great one-two with Paco Alcácer, which ended with the left-sided player chipping the ball into the back of the net, while the second was a long-range effort from Villareal’s No.18.
Before the half-hour mark, Mandi scored the third goal of the evening, with a header from a corner swung in from the right. Ten minutes later, Alcácer scored the fourth, capitalising on an error in defence. At half-time it was 0-4. It could have been more, but the home side’s goalkeeper put in an impressive performance.
At the start of the second half, Chukwueze found the back of the net with a powerful effort after a lovely Dani Raba dummy. With half an hour left, Emery brought on Gerard Moreno, who was coming back from an injury. Two Villarreal B players also made their debuts, Iosifov and Dani Tasende.
Gerard only needed ten minutes to score. The current Zarra Trophy holder found the back of the net with a header from a corner. Later, Dia also added a seventh after an Alberto Moreno cross from the left. The eighth and final goal came from Iosifov.
Lineups:
Victoria CF: Alejandro López, Miguel Mandayo (Saavedra. M. 73), Pablo Plaza, Sergio Rodríguez, Javier Sande, Jorge Raña, Martín Mauriz, Iago Pérez (Iago Rial, m. 80), Sergio González (Padín, m. 56), Adrián Méndez (Diego Expósito, m. 80), Christian López.
Villarreal CF: S. Asenjo; Mario Gaspar, Mandi, Dela (Carlo, m. 80), Estupiñán (Gerard, m. 63); R. Peña (Iosifov, m. 63), Alberto M., Iborra; Chukwueze, Paco Alcácer (Dia, m. 46), Dani Raba (Tasende, m. 63).
Goals: 0-1. Min 17: Alberto M. 0-2. Min. 22: Alberto M. 0-3. Min. 28: Mandi. 0-4. Min. 37: Paco Alcácer. 0-5. Min. 50: Chukwueze. 0-6. Min. 74: Gerard. 0-7. Min. 81: Dia. 0-8. Min. 87: Iosifov.
Referee: González Fuertes.
Matchday information: Game between Victoria CF and Villarreal CF, corresponding to Round 1 of the 2021/22 Copa del Rey at Riazor.
