Villarreal finished in fifth place in the LaLiga Santander in the 2016/17 campaign
Farewell to the 2016/17 season. Today, 30th June 2017, the football year is officially over and what a year it was for the Submarine, especially in the LaLiga Santander. Fran Escribá’s side finished in fifth place in Spain’s top flight, which won them a direct ticket to the Group Stage of next season’s UEFA Europa League. In addition, it was a season that will go down in history due to the change of name of the Yellows’ stadium, which from 8th January 2017 has been called the Estadio de la Cerámica.
The start of the campaign was not easy at all, with an abrupt change in coaching staff, the end however was tremendous. Villarreal won the derby at the Mestalla stadium against Valencia on the last day of the season and put the perfect finishing touch on the season. Getting knocked out in the UEFA Champions League Play-off against AS Monaco did not dampen the spirits of a squad that was made for success. The Yellows started the season with a spectacular run of nine consecutive league matches without a loss (five wins and four draws). The biggest win of the season was against Celta de Vigo at the, then, El Madrigal stadium (5-0). And the first defeat came on Matchday 10 against SD Eibar at the Ipurúa stadium (2-1).
Yellows fans had a lot to cheer about all throughout the league campaign. Villarreal turned into real experts at picking up points against the strongest teams in the competition, drawing with FC Barcelona at home (1-1), against Real Madrid away at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium (1-1) and beating Atlético Madrid both at home (3-0) and away at the Vicente Calderón stadium (0-1). Another win that was a turning point in Villarreal’s fight for European football was achieved at the Anoeta stadium against Real Sociedad. The only goal of the game was scored by Samu Castillejo in injury time and it gave the Yellows wings.
The tug-of-war with teams like Real Sociedad and Athletic Club was constant in the fight for European spots. At one point, fans were even dreaming about qualifying for the Champions League, but in the end they celebrated the fifth place at the Mestalla stadium.
In terms of individual performances, the team’s joint top goal scorers stand out, Cédric Bakambu and Roberto Soriano both netting 11 goals in all competitions. The goalkeepers also played a key role. Asenjo was the goalkeeper to have conceded the least goals in the LaLiga Santander until he got injured in the match against Real Madrid at the Estadio de la Cerámica; from then on Andrés Fernández assumed the responsibility between the posts for the final stretch of the season with several superb performances.
AS Roma put an end to the Yellows’ UEFA Europa League
Villarreal progressed from the Group Stage of the UEFA Europa League by finishing in second place in Group L. And it was by no means easy to qualify for the next round. In fact, the Yellows qualified for the next round of the competition in their last Group game against Steaua București at the El Madrigal stadium (2-1).
Fran Escribá’s squad started the competition with a narrow victory over FC Zürich (2-1), but the tournament took an uphill turn for the Yellows on Matchday 2 with a draw in Romania against Steaua București (1-1), then another draw in Turkey against Osmanlispor (2-2), followed by an unexpected defeat to the Turkish side at home (1-2) and then another draw, this time in Switzerland against FC Zürich (1-1).
Despite that, the Submarine resurfaced and managed to qualify for the next round with a victory against Steaua București (2-1) in front of the Yellow home crowd. Manu Trigueros’ spectacular lob was the decisive and unforgettable game winner for Villarreal.
Finishing second in the group evidently made the Round of 32 draw more difficult for the Yellows. In the end, the Submarine’s rival turned out to be AS Roma, a strong side fighting for the Serie A title. The first leg, played at the Estadio de la Cerámica, was decisive (0-4). Villarreal travelled to Rome in search of heroism, but they could not make the comeback. The Yellows did manage to pick up a prestigious victory at the Olímpico de Roma stadium, thanks to a goal by Colombian Santos Borré (0-1), but it was not enough.
A discreet role in the Copa del Rey
With plenty of rotations in the squad. That is how Villarreal CF took on the Copa del Rey. Fran Escriba’s men took down the Second Division B side, CD Toledo, in the first round, but eventually fell to Real Sociedad in the Round of 16 of the knockout tournament. The Submarine’s first match of the competition finished in a comfortable 0-3 win in favour of the Yellows at the Salto del Caballo stadium, so the return leg in Vila-real was just a mere formality (1-1).
Then, in the Round of 16, Villarreal were knocked out by a solid Real Sociedad. The side from San Sebastian beat the Yellows at the Anoeta stadium (3-1) and were able to hold on to their lead at the Estadio de la Cerámica (1-1). The Submarine were made to pay gravely for their mistakes from the first leg. In short, it was a discreet performance in the Copa del Rey. But nevertheless…
An unforgettable season.
