Villarreal B, despite a second-half comeback, fall short after five games unbeaten

An in-form Villarreal B, unbeaten in five games, hosted a needy Málaga, who were fighting for one of their last chances to stay in the fight for survival at the Estadio de la Cerámica. Villarreal B, who went from strength to strength in the match, lost 1-2 to Málaga CF. The goal for the Yellows came from Sergio Carreira.

A dazzling start. In the third minute of the game, Miguel Álvarez’s men almost took the lead through Álex Millán. The Maño, after a fabulous pass from Sergio Lozano with the outside of the box, pinned down his marker inside the area and unleashed a spectacular left-footed lash that Yáñez cleared off the line to prevent the first goal of the game.

However, it was the visitors who broke the initial deadlock. Chavarria, after a good combination play, beat Iker Álvarez to put his team ahead.

Málaga struck again shortly afterwards. Rubén Castro, unmarked inside the area, beat the Andorran goalkeeper with a left-footed effort.

The Mini Submarine could do little more in the final minutes of the first half. Málaga went in at half-time with a two-goal lead on the scoreboard.

Miguel Álvarez introduced fresh legs at the start of the second half. Tiago Geralnik, Pacheco and Pablo Iñiguez came on in place of Liberman, Migue Leal and Carlo. The team reacted timidly. Sergio Carreira threatened the opposition defence with a powerful low cross that was cleared by the away defence before Millán had the slightest chance of scoring.

Villarreal B were gradually growing into the game. Carreira again managed to get to the byline and put in a cross to the far post that neither Millán in the first instance nor Lozano after a defender’s rebound was able to send into the back of the net.

Tiago Geralnik put a spectacular pass behind the Málaga defence and Carreira appeared from behind to score a powerful effort that hit the post before going in.

Villarreal B continued to look for an equaliser. Forés and Carlos Romero came on in place of Fer Niño and Abraham, who played his first minutes as a yellow player in the renovated Estadio de ña Cerámica stadium.

The Yellows went on the attack in search of an equaliser. Málaga were waiting in the back with a strong defence ready to stop the visitors. In the end, Miguel Álvarez’s side were unable to find the net and went down to defeat five games later.

Lineups:

Villarreal B: Iker Álvarez; Migue Leal (min. 46, P. Iñiguez), Dela, Abraham (min. 79, C. Romero), Tasende; Carreira, Liberman (min. 46, Tiago), Carlo (min. 46, Pacheco), S. Lozano; Fer Niño (min. 72, Á. Forés), Á. Millán.

Málaga CF: R. Yáñez; Delmas, E. Burgos, Juande, Cristian; A. Febas, Ramon (min. 79, Luis Muñoz), Escassi (min. 46, Ramalho), F. Villalba (min. 79, Genaro); Rubén Castro, Chavarria (min. 60, Lago Junior (min. 64, Álex Calvo).

Goals: 0-1. Min. 14: Chavarria.0-2. Min. 29: Rubén Castro. 1-2. Min. 63: Carreira.

Referee: Ávalos Barrera. Booked: Liberman, Millán (Villarreal B); Escassi, Ramon (Málaga CF).

Matchday information: Game between Villarreal CF and Málaga CF corresponding to Gameweek 25 of the 2022/23 LaLiga SmartBank season at the Estadio de la Cerámica. Attendance: 5,233.