Villarreal get a point in a match decided by questionable refereeing decisions
Villarreal came away with only a point because the referee decided that was going to be the case, controversially disallowing two goals. One by Pape Gueye for a positional offside by Ayoze Pérez and another by Etta Eyong for a non-existent foul by Nicolas Pepe, who put the ball into the box for the young striker. With all this and the understandable anger of the fans, the Yellows drew against Real Sociedad at the Estadio de la Cerámica (2-2).
After the impressive victory away to Real Betis, which was a morale booster for Villarreal in the fight for the Champions League, the Submarine hosted Real Sociedad this Sunday, another big rival in the fight for Europe.
Marcelino’s men were back at home, with the firm objective of improving on their recent home results and translating the good feelings from their recent games against Real Madrid and Athletic Club into victories.
With that premise in mind, the Groguets went into the game strong and took an early lead. Yeremy Pino sent Sergi Cardona’s fine pass from the left flank into the net, which Denis Suárez, Villarreal’s new man in the Villarreal eleven, put through with great class.
It was a promising start to the game, but it was cut short by bad luck sooner than expected. Just ten minutes later, in the 17th minute, an unlucky handball by Thierno Barry resulted in a penalty and Real Sociedad equalised with a close-range effort from Oyarzabal. Luiz Júnior took a touch, but it was not enough to stop it.
Despite the 1-1 draw, Villarreal continued to dominate the ball and take the lead in the game. After the half-hour mark, the best chance of the first half came from Juan Foyth, who hit the post with a header from Dani Parejo’s pinpoint corner.
On the return from the break, Real Sociedad surprised by turning the scoreline around. Oyarzabal again scored the second goal for the San Sebastián side, who took the ball away from Luiz Júnior, who was unable to get the ball away from his feet in the six-yard box. With very little, the Basques had the lead on the scoreboard at the Estadio de la Cerámica. A change in the script of the match forced Marcelino’s side to take a step forward to restore parity on the scoreboard.
With the team going forward, just before the hour mark, Villarreal equalised. Ayoze Pérez found the equaliser with a fantastic header in the heart of the box from Yeremy on the left.
Villarreal were pressing hard and kept creating chances to score the third. Barry had a clear header that Remiro saved with a fantastic intervention. Marcelino’s team did not take their foot off the accelerator. A few minutes later, Yeremy sent the ball into the net, but the goal was denied by a millimetric and frustrating offside.
The Groguets kept trying as the minutes ticked away. With a combination between Pepe, Ayoze and Yeremy, which culminated in a cross-shot, Villarreal once again went close at the Estadio de la Cerámica.
In the 84th minute, there was a controversial moment in the match. Referee Cuadra Fernández denied Villarreal a goal, scored by Pape Gueye, for a positional offside by Ayoze Pérez, in which the Tenerife native had no involvement whatsoever in the action.
To make matters worse, in added time, the referee disallowed another Villarreal goal, scored by Etta Eyong, for an alleged foul by Nicolas Pepe on Javi López. The crowd roared against the referee, whose decisions prevented the Submarine from claiming a victory, which they deserved on the basis of play, chances and finding the back of the net.
