Villarreal lose against the Basque side and will fight to get into the UEFA Conference League on the last day of the season against FC Barcelona
Villarreal lost against Real Sociedad (1-2) in a direct fight for Europe. Unai Emery’s side, who took the lead through Francis Coquelin, left without any points after second-half goals from Izak and Zubimendi. The Yellow Submarine will fight to get into Europe against FC Barcelona on the last day of the season, away from La Cerámica.
Villarreal hosted Real Sociedad in the last tie at the Estadio de la Cerámica before the big transformation that the Yellow Submarine’s home will face in the coming months, before welcoming in 2023, the year of the Yellows’ centenary.
To try and seal the Yellows place in Europe next season, Unai Emery started with the same lineup that faced Sevilla FC. In goal, Gero Rulli. In defence, Juan Foyth, Raúl Albiol, Pau Torres and Pervis Estupiñán. In the middle, there were four men: Dani Parejo, Coquelin, Étienne Capoue and Samu Chukwueze. Up front were Gio Lo Celso and Boulaye Dia.
Both Villarreal and Real Sociedad were fighting to seal their place in Europe. There was a lot up for grabs for two teams who like to have the ball and play in the opposition half. Early on, it was the away side who took initiative of the game and were closer to scoring. Sorloth warned Villarreal with a chip past Rulli which Albiol cleared off the line.
After the 20-minute mark, Villarreal started to see more of the ball and featured more in the opposition half. Capoue, with a header off target, and Chukwueze, with a low shot, were the men who created the first real goalscoring chances for the Submarine, who looked more and more comfortable on the Estadio de la Cerámica pitch. With half an hour on the clock, Parejo’s shot from the edge of the box was saved by Remiro at full stretch.
Villarreal’s efforts paid off just before the break with a fantastic goal from Coquelin. The French midfielder fired past the opposition goalkeeper with a spectacular acrobatic effort after a corner. Parejo played a great ball to the back post, where the Yellows No.19 surprised everyone by appearing and launching a rocket into the back of the net.
At the start of the second half, Villarreal did not slow down and continued to search persistently for another goal. Samu Chukwueze could have made it 2-0 with a shot that went just wide of the post. The Nigerian striker received an excellent pass into space from Lo Celso, but was unable to finish as emphatically as he would have liked.
Having come close to scoring a goal to settle the nerves, Real Sociedad got the equaliser through Isak. The Swedish striker took advantage of a tense cross from Zaldua that drifted across the six-yard box before the Real No.19 sent the ball into the back of the net.
With 1-1 on the scoreboard, the Estadio de la Cerámica was once again the scene of controversy. The referee, González Fuertes, awarded a penalty for a foul by Illarramendi on Capoue. After consulting with the VAR, the referee decided to overrule his initial decision.
After the penalty was overturned, in the 73rd inute, the away team struck again with a goal from Zubimendi, who took advantage of a Rulli rebound from a Sorloth shot to turn the score around inside the six-yard box at the Estadio de la Cerámica.
Villarreal needed a reaction with little time left. The Yellows tried until the 100th minute, but could not find the equaliser. The Submarine will play for a place in the Conference League on the last matchday against FC Barcelona at the Camp Nou.
Lineups:
Villarreal: Rulli; Foyth, R. Albiol (Mario Gaspar, m. 81), Pau, Estupiñán (A. Pedraza, m. 75); Chukwueze (Paco Alcácer, m. 75), Capoue, Parejo, Coquelin (M. Trigueros, m. 81); Lo Celso, Dia (N. Jackson, m. 65).
Real Sociedad: A. Remiro; Zaldua (Gorosabel, m. 46), Zubeldia, Le Normand, Rico; Zubimendi, Merino (Rafael, m. 65), Illarra, SIlva; Isak (Portu, m. 87), Sorloth (Januzaj, m. 81).
Goals: 1-0. Min. 43: Coquelin. 1-1. Min. 56: Isak. 1-2. Min. 73: Zubimendi.
Referee: González Fuertes. Booked: Foyth, R. Albiol, Lo Celso, N. Jackson (Villarreal); Zaldua, Isak, Rico (Real Sociedad).
Matchday information: Match between Villarreal andReal Sociedad, corresponding to Matchday 37 of the LaLiga season, at the Estadio de la Cerámica. Attendance: 18,689.
