Villarreal lose to Sevilla in a game marked by bad luck and the home side’s clinical nature
Villarreal lost 2-0 to Sevilla in a game marked by bad luck for the Yellows and the home team’s effectiveness in front of goal, who, with a penalty and a counter-attacking goal, beat the Yellows and came away with the three points up for grabs at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán.
The defeat in Andalusia ends the run of 19 games in a row without defeat that Unai Emery’s side were on.
To face Sevilla at the Sánchez-Pizjuán, Emery lined up with a starting XI with just one change from the last league game against Athletic Club (1-1). The Basque manager brought in Rubén Peña for the injured Mario Gaspar.
The match started in the worst way posible for Villarreal. With five minutes gone, the referee pointed to the penalty spot for a Juan Foyth handball. Lucas Ocampos stepped up and put the home side ahead.
The Yellows needed to react to get back into the game. Emery’s side were better in the first half. They had the initiative, but were unable to create really dangerous chances.
Apart from their goal, the home side had a good chance through a Diego Carlos after a header, which was saved well by an alert Sergio Asenjo.
Luck was not with the Yellow Submarine at the Sánchez-Pizjuán. In the second half, with 50 minutes on the clock, Villarreal could have gone level as Fer Niño got close on goal, but he was unable to get a shot off in the box.
Straight after, Sevilla won the ball back through Ocampos, who played a through ball for Youssef En-Nesyri. The Moroccan striker got between the Yellows’ centre-backs and ran through to place the ball below Asenjo. It was 2-0, harsh on the Yellows in what was a relatively even tie.
Later on, around the 70-minute mark, Villarreal had two great chances to get a goal back. Bono made two great saves to deny Alfonso Pedraza and Samu Chukwueze in less tan two minutes. Despite trying until the end, Villarreal were unable to get a goal, with the game ending 2-0.
Next up for the Yellows is a game against Levante UD on Saturday 2nd January (2pm CET, Estadio de la Cerámica).
Lineups:
Sevilla FC: Bono; J. Navas, Diego Carlos, Koundé, Acuña; Fernando, Rakitic (Oliver Torres, m. 75), Jordán (Gudelj, m. 87); Ocampos, En-Nesyri (De Jong, m. 87), Suso (Munir, m. 62).
Villarreal CF: S. Asenjo; R. Peña, R. Albiol, Pau, A. Pedraza; Foyth (Yeremy, m. 45), M. Trigueros (Bacca, m. 82), Parejo; Gerard, F. Niño (Chukwueze, m. 62), Moi Gómez.
Goals: 1-0. Min. 7: Ocampos. 2-0. Min. 52: En-Nesyri.
Referee: Soto Grado. Booked: Fernando (Sevilla); Foyth, Trigueros, Parejo, Bacca (Villarreal).
Matchday information: Game between Sevilla FC and Villarreal CF, corresponding to Matchday 16 of the 2020/21 LaLiga season at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium.
