Unai Emery’s side comfortably beat Borussia Dortmund with goals from Gerard and Chukwueze
Villarreal convincingly defeated a good Borussia Dortmund side at the Cashpoint Arena in Altach (Austria), growing into the match and taking control of the game thanks to two powerful efforts from Gerard Moreno and Samu Chukwueze. The German side could have gone ahead early on, but over the whole game, the Submarine were able to get a comfortable win.
The German side had a few chances early on. Gero Rulli was impressive in the first half, saving well from Marco Reus after 44 seconds, and making a handball-style save to deny Adeyemi after. For the Yellows, Danjuma went close but failed to make proper contact with the ball after going one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
The Submarine grew into the game, playing out from the back. Unai Emery’s men made some errors early on, but they were loyal to their style, and were able to use the ball to create danger. Villarreal got their reward with a goal just before half-time. Gerard, after a great save from Meyer, fired the rebound home to score the first goal of the match and put the Submarine ahead.
In the second half, Villarreal dominated, and Alfonso Pedraza, who came on at the break, was a constant headache for the German side down the left. Nicolas Jackson, who also was a half-time substitute, had the best chance early on, with Meyer out of his goal, but Meunier cleared the ball off the line.
With an hour on the clock, the scorer of the second goal came on: Chukwueze. Gerard twisted and turned on the edge of the box, and facing his marker, laid the ball off. To the Nigerian, who put the ball in the top corner, impossible for the opposition goalkeeper. Both Chukwueze and Jackson, as well as Gerard and José Luis Morales, who replaced the Catalan forward, looked electric in attack in the second half. The Nigerian could have scored another, but his shot hit the post.
Rulli stayed focused to stop the few chances Borussia had. The closing stages saw Villarreal B captain Adrián De La Fuente replace Juan Foyth at right-back. Only Pau Torres and Rulli played the whole 90 minutes of an impressive performance for the Yellows.
Next up on pre-season is the fourth match, against Stade de Reims at the Stade Auguste Delaune, on Sunday at 7pm CEST.
Lineups:
Borussia Dortmund: Meyer; Guerreiro (m. 58, Wolf), Süle, Schlotterbeck, Hummels (m. 58, Passlack); Meunier (m. 58, Hazard), Malen (m. 58, Moukoko), Brandt (m. 77, Fink); Reus (m. 58, Kamara), Adeyemi (m. 58, Bynoe-Gittens), Bellingham.
Villarreal CF: Rulli; Foyth (m. 86, Dela), Pau, Mandi (m. 46, R. Albiol), Estupiñán (m. 46, A. Pedraza); Yeremy (m. 60, Chukwueze), Coquelin (m. 60, Capoue), Parejo (m. 86, Iborra), Álex B. (m. 69, M. Trigueros); Danjuma (m. 46, N. Jackson), Gerard (m. 69, J.L. Morales).
Goals: 0-1. Min. 44: Gerard Moreno. 0-2. Min. 67: Chukwueze.
Referee: Sebastian Gishamer. Booked: Süle.
Matchday information: Pre-season friendly between Borussia Dortmund and Villarreal at the Cashpoint Arena in Altach.
