Villarreal beat Levante in added time and move out of the relegation zone
Happy Birthday! Villarreal picked up a hard-earned win against Levante thanks to two injury time goals on the day that the club celebrates 96 years since its establishment. This result takes the Yellow Submarine out of the relegation zone.
Javi Calleja stuck with his trusty 3-5-2 formation. Although, with Álvaro suspended and Bonera injured, he did have to make some changes. Mario Gaspar played as the right of the three centre-backs and Jaume Costa came in at right wing-back.
Both sides had their share of goal scoring chances in the first half. Villarreal’s were not quite as convincing, with Gerard Moreno and Toko Ekambi both trying their luck with no success. Levante’s Coke on the other hand had a very clear chance in the 18th minute, but he pulled his shot just wide of Asenjo’s far post.
Paco López’s side scored after half an hour of play, but after the play was reviewed by the VAR, Rochina’s goal was disallowed as Morales was considered to be offside moments before.
In the second half, Javi Calleja changed things up. Samu Chukwueze came on for Gerard Moreno to play up top with Toko Ekambi. The Yellows looking to take advantage of his speed to find spaces in behind on the counterattack.
With just over a quarter of an hour to play, Alfonso Pedraza went off injured. After battling for a loose ball in the box Pedraza crashed into Cabaco and Aitor, leaving him unable to continue playing. Miguelón came on at right-wing back and Jaume Costa moved over to his more natural left wing-back position.
Both teams came close to scoring the winner late on. First it was Samu Chukwueze for the Yellows, but he did not connect properly with his header and his effort went wide. Then it was Levante’s turn, Morales sent in a driven cross from the right and after deflecting off Asenjo and Funes Mori it trickled just wide of the far post. Phew!
Euphoria for the Yellows struck in injury time. And not just once, but twice! First, it was Toko Ekambi who broke the deadlock. The French-Cameroonian made no mistake in sending Iborra’s cross into the back of the net. Then Samu Chukwueze sentenced the match. The Nigerian forward received the ball on the top of the box, cut inside onto his left foot and curled a superb strike into the far side of the goal and out of Aitor’s reach to make it a decisive 0-2.
Villarreal’s next match is at the Estadio de la Cerámica against Zenit Saint Petersburg in the second leg of the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 (Thursday, 9pm CET).
Lineups:
Levante UD: Aitor; Coke, Cabaco, Rober Pier; Moses, Campaña, Rochina (Dwamena, m. 92), Bardhi (Vukcevic, m. 83), Luna; Roger (Borja Mayoral, m. 70) and Morales.
Villarreal CF: Asenjo; Mario Gaspar, Funes Mori, Víctor Ruiz; Jaume Costa, Cáseres (Fornals, m. 72), Iborra, Cazorla, Pedraza (Miguelón, m. 80); Toko Ekambi and Gerard (Chukwueze, m. 62).
Goals: 0-1. Min. 93: Toko Ekambi. 0-2. Min. 95: Chukwueze.
Referee: Sánchez Martínez. Booked: Cabaco, Campaña and Rochina for Levante; Mario Gaspar, Gerard, Toko Ekambi, Funes Mori and Iborra for Villarreal.
Match Information: Match corresponding to Matchday 27 of LaLigaplayed at the Ciutat de València stadium in front of 20,149 spectators. A minute of silence was held in memory of Fernando Gallart, ex-Levante player.
