Villarreal beat Turkish champions Galatasaray thanks to goals from Ayoze and Mikautadze
Villarreal CF rounded off their summer preparations with an excellent 1-2 victory over Galatasaray in Turkey. Iñigo Pérez’s side, wearing their third kit for the first time this season, delivered a solid, attractive and effective display at the impressive Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi RAMS Park.
This demanding clash in Istanbul brought an end to an intense pre-season campaign comprising seven friendlies against top-quality international opposition: Benfica, PSV Eindhoven, AlUla, Como, Lens, Levante and Galatasaray. The feeling ahead of the opening Matchday of LALIGA against Racing de Santander could hardly be better, having beaten both the Eredivisie champions (PSV Eindhoven) and the reigning Turkish league champions on their own turf during this preparation period.
Flying start at RAMS Park
The match began at a frantic pace from the opening whistle. In the third minute, Pepe produced a brilliant individual move inside the penalty area which resulted in a handball by Mario Lemina. Ayoze stepped up and calmly converted from the penalty spot to make it 0-1. The Turkish side responded immediately and, just a minute later (4′), Osimhen powered home a header to level the scores at 1-1.
Far from being intimidated by the home crowd, the Yellow Submarine took control of the game and began to create chances with increasing frequency. In the 14th minute, an effort from Ayoze forced the goalkeeper into a difficult save. Three minutes later, Moleiro went close with a well-placed strike that was comfortably stopped by the home keeper.
Brilliant run from Foyth and clinical finish from Mikautadze
Iñigo Pérez continues to shape the team impressively, with the tactical work evident in every transition. After a quick counter-attack in the 36th minute ended with Pepe firing over the bar, one of the highlights of the evening arrived. In the 40th minute, Juan Foyth surged forward from deep, breaking through the lines with a superb run. He fed Pepe, whose perfectly weighted pass found Mikautadze, and the forward made no mistake in slotting home to put Villarreal 1-2 ahead before half-time.
A wave of chances after the break
The second half followed a similar pattern, with Villarreal continuing to dominate. In the 50th minute, a slick one-two between Pepe and Ayoze sent the Ivory Coast attacker through on goal, although he was unable to apply the finishing touch. Three minutes later, Carlos Romero came close with a powerful right-footed strike that flashed just past the post.
At the other end, Gulácsi produced an outstanding save in the 69th minute to deny the hosts. The final chance of the match came in the 90th minute when Macià tested the goalkeeper with a dangerous effort from the edge of the box, forcing another difficult stop.
With this victory at RAMS Park, the Yellow Submarine complete a demanding pre-season schedule on a high and head into their LALIGA opener against Racing de Santander in excellent form.
