Villarreal had a great first half but Wolves made a comeback after the break scoring two to win it (2-1)
Villarreal lost their first preseason match after falling to Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Molineux Stadium this afternoon (2-1). The Yellow Submarine , who wore their second pink strip today, took the lead in the game as Gerard Moreno finished off a brilliant assist by Pablo Fornals. The home side turned the scoreline around after the break though with two early goals by Willy Boly and Raúl Jiménez.
Fornals directed the orchestra in Villarreal’s best chances of the first half. First he played a great ball forward to Gerard Moreno, who finished by chipping the ball over Wolves goalkeeper Rui Patricio (0-1). Then, just before the break, Villarreal could have scored a second as Ekambi went through one one one with Patricio- after another Fornals assist- but the loacls’ keeper was equal to it. Ruben Neves had a chance to equalize from the penalty spot in the first half, but he shot wide of the mark.
After the restart, Wolves turned the match around with two quick goals. The first was scored by Willy Bolly with a header from a corner kick and Raúl Jiménez netted the second after a good team move.
There were fewer chances in the second half, but right at the end Javi Calleja’s side came close to equalizing on two occasions. Villarreal ran out of time to equalize though and as a result, came away from the Molineux with their first defeat in preseason. In total the Yellows have picked up one win, four draws and a loss in this preparation phase of the season.
Lineups:
Wolverhampton Wanderers: Rui Patricio; Saiss, Coady, Boly; Doherty, Neves, Moutinho, Otto; Helder Costa, Raúl Jiménez and Jota.
Also played: Bennett, Bonatini, Cavaleiro and Gibbs White.
Villarreal CF: Barbosa; Layún, Álvaro, Funes Mori, Pedraza; Cáseres, Morlanes, Fornals, Cazorla; Ekambi and Moreno.
Also played: Costa, Sansone, Miguelón, Víctor Ruiz, Nahuel, Ramiro, Ünal, Leo Suárez, Mario Gaspar and N’Diaye.
Goals: 0-1. Min. 17: Gerard Moreno. 1-1. Min. 49: Willy Boly. 2-1. Min. 53: Raúl Jiménez.
Referee: Lee Probert.
Stadium: Molineux Stadium.
Match Information: Sixth preseason friendly against Wolverhampton Wanderers, played at the Molineux Stadium in front of 19,062 fans.
