Villarreal fall to Atlético Madrid, despite putting on a good display at the home of the red-and-whites (2-0)
Villarreal fell on their visit to the Wanda Metropolitano (2-0). The Yellows were unable to pick up points against Atlético Madrid in what was a hard-fought encounter. The Submarine put in a good performance and competed until the end, having their fair share of chances and testing a solid Atlético side, but the locals were more clinical in the final third and this earned them all three points.
The Yellows set up at the Wanda Metropolitano with ten of the eleven players that started and won against Sevilla last weekend at the Estadio de la Cerámica (3-0). Centre-back Funes Mori came in for Daniele Bonera in the middle of the back three, as the Italian picked up an injury against the Anadlusian side. Once more, Javi Calleja went for a 3-5-2 formation as it has proven to get results for the Yellow Submarine in their recent encounters.
In the opening minutes, Atlético Madrid dominated possession. The home side had more of the ball but did not create any goal scoring chances. In fact, it was the Yellows that had the first clear chance of the game. Just before the ten-minute mark, Sergio Asenjo’s long ball forward turned into a fantastic chance for Toko Ekambi. The French-Cameroonian striker was sent through one-on-one with Oblak after a fabulous assist by Carlos Bacca. Toko was unable to convert this first chance, but it served to spur the Yellows on, who looked threatening on the counterattack.
In the 22nd minute, Sergio Asenjo stepped up for the first time in the match. The Spanish international made a fantastic save to keep out Álvaro Morata’s well-placed shot from the heart of the box.
Then, with half an hour on the clock, Atlético took the lead. It was Morata again, but this time he found the back of the net after putting away a Filipe Luis cross in from the left. Immediately after, Villarreal could have levelled the score through Mario Gaspar, but his powerful strike was saved by Oblak.
The Yellows dominated the second half. In the 55th minute, Bacca showed great individual skill to skip around Atleti defenders in the box, but his subsequent shot was blocked by Giménez. Just before this chance, Javi Calleja had changed things up, bringing Chukwueze and Gerard Moreno on and reverting to a 4-4-2.
Three minutes from time, a counterattack started by Costa ended in a Saúl goal that sentenced the match, putting an end to the Yellows’ hopes of picking up points at the Metropolitano. Villarreal will play next Saturday against Deportivo Alavés at the Estadio de la Cerámica (4:15pm CET).
Line-ups:
Atlético Madrid: Oblak; Arias, Savic, Giménez, Filipe Luis; Koke (Vitolo, m. 89), Rodrigo, Saúl, Lemar (Thomas, m. 63); Morata (Costa, m. 58) and Griezmann.
Villarreal: Asenjo; Mario Gaspar, Álvaro, Funes Mori (Chukwueze, m. 55), Víctor Ruiz, Pedraza; Cáseres (Fornals, m. 75), Iborra, Cazorla; Toko Ekambi and Bacca (Gerard, m. 68).
Goals: 1-0. Min 30: Morata. 2-0. Min. 87: Saúl.
Referee: Undiano Mallenco. Booked: Álvaro, Cáseres and Víctor Ruiz for Villarreal.
Match Information: Match between Atlético Madrid and Villarreal corresponding to Matchday 25 of LaLiga played at the Wanda Metropolitano in front of 59,114 spectators.
