Villarreal lose to the Catalan side despite going ahead on the scoreboard
Defeat at home. Villarreal lost to Girona (1-2) in a match in which Pacheta’s side went ahead on the scoreboard, but were unable to manage the lead and the visitors turned the scoreline around in the last half hour of the game.
Both teams played an open game, with many chances. Villarreal went looking for Girona, while the Catalans also wanted the ball and to be direct. The match promised to be a great show with plenty of thrills and spills.
The first big chance of the clash fell to the Yellows. Before the first minute was up, Villarreal stole in the opposition half, Baena received a pass into space from Yeremy, got to the byline and passed to Morales, who shot high and over the goal defended by Gazzaniga.
The Yellows started the better of the two sides. Or at least with more punch. Before the halfway point of the first half, Pacheta’s team already had several chances and very clear arrivals. A triple chance for Morales, Yeremy and Sorloth, who consecutively crashed the ball into the visiting defenders, as well as an impressive run by Pedraza, who came within a metre of the Girona goal.
The more the Yellows were in the opposition half, the more Girona attacked the space. Appearing on the right, Pedraza expertly thwarted two promising attempts from the visitors.
The game had a frenetic pace and if Girona ran, Villarreal were quick to respond. In the 37th minute, Yeremy had a chance in a dizzying move into space. The winger failed to get clear of his marker before firing a shot that Gazzaniga turned behind for a corner.
Just after the start of the second half, Capoue was awarded a penalty after being kicked by Iván Martín inside the box. It was Dani Parejo who took the spot-kick and converted with some suspense.
The Submarine’s joy was short-lived. A few minutes later, Girona were back on level terms with a Dovbyk header. And immediately afterwards, Eric made it 1-2 from a corner.
From then on, Pacheta’s team fought for the equaliser, but with more desire than success. The Yellows were left without the equaliser and without points at La Cerámica.
