Villarreal lose to Athletic Club after an Iñaki Williams goal
Villarreal lost to Athletic Club (1-0) in a tough match for the Yellows. The Basque side controlled the game and took the win thanks to an Iñaki Williams goal.
The Submarine arrived in Bilbao with confidence and a new leader on the bench after the departure of Unai Emery. Quique Setién made his league debut as Villarreal head coach at San Mamés after first taking charge last Thursday against Hapoel Be’er Sheva (2-2).
With the European duel forgotten, the Submarine returned to league action to face a tough match against Athletic. The match started with a high tempo. Both sides were looking for space and verticality in the early stages of the game. In the battle for the ball, Villarreal prevailed, showing bravery and talent.
The first setback of the match came in the 25th minute when Gio Lo Celso was unable to continue on the pitch and Manu Trigueros came on to replace the Argentinian. As the minutes passed, Athletic took a step forward. They took the ball away from the Submarine, who had dominated the first half hour. The last quarter of an hour of the first half saw a defensive effort from Villarreal, who had to work hard at the back to maintain the 0-0 scoreline.
At the start of the second half, Rulli made a providential save from Raúl García, who stole the ball inside the area after a mistake playing out from the back. Shortly afterwards, the Submarine replied with a shot from Arnaut Danjuma from the edge of the area, which Unai Simón kept out with a great save.
Just before the hour mark, Iñaki Williams gave Athletic the lead at San Mamés. The forward received a pass into space from Raúl García and finished well past Rulli.
Antes de cumplirse la hora de juego, Iñaki Williams adelantó al Athletic en San Mamés. El delantero rojiblanco recibió un pase al espacio de Raúl García y definió con acierto ante Rulli.
Quique Setién decided to look to the bench and brought on Yeremy Pino and Nico Jackson. Fresh legs to surprise the Basque team, who were in control at San Mamés. It was not enough for Villarreal, who were unable to find the equaliser.
Lineups
Athletic Club: Unai Simón; De Marcos (I. Lekue, m. 29), Yeray, I. Martínez, Yuri B.; Vesga, O. Sancet, Williams Jr, Raúl García (Vencedor, m. 69), Berenguer (Morci, m. 82); Williams (Guruzeta, m. 82).
Villarreal CF: Rulli; Kiko F. (J. Cuenca, m. 87), Mandi, Pau, Alberto M.; Chukwueze (Yeremy, m. 64), Parejo (A. Del Moral, m. 86), Coquelin, Lo Celso (M. Trigueros, m. 25); Danjuma, A. J. Morales (N. Jackson, m. 64).
Goal: 1-0. Min. 59: Williams.
Referee: Ortiz Arias . Booked: Raúl García, Vesga (Athletic Club); Alberto M (Villarreal CF)..
Matchday information: Match between Athletic Club and Villarreal CF, corresponding to Matchday 12 of the 2022/23 LaLiga Santander season at San Mamés.
