Villarreal CF kick off the Copa del Rey with a resounding win against Comillas CF
Villarreal CF got off to a flyer in the first round of the Copa del Rey. Javi Calleja’s side beat Comillas CF convincingly at the legendary Las Gaunas stadium (0-5). A Carlos Bacca hat-trick and a goal apiece for Leo Suárez and Santi Cazorla sealed the win for the Yellow Submarine who completely dominated the match from start to finish. The Yellows’ victory was also accompanied by first-team debuts for B team players Migue and Baena.
Javi Calleja took advantage of the cup tie to give minutes to some of his less regular players. The Yellows boss started with midfielders Leo Suárez and Manu Morlanes as well as youngsters Sergio Lozano and Migue Leal, the latter making his debut for the first team. The B team full back is the fifth Vila-real born player to make his debut with the Villarreal CF first team, following in the footsteps of Héctor Font, César Arzo, Xisco Nadal and Pau Torres.
Villarreal asserted their dominance from the off. After hitting the post three times in the opening minutes, the Yellows took a while to get off the mark. Toko Ekambi was the first to hit the woodwork, followed by Manu Morlanes and then Rubén Peña. With half an hour on the clock though, Villarreal finally broke the deadlock at Las Gaunas. It was Leo Suárez who opened the floodgates for the Yellows heading home a perfectly weighted ball in from Rubén Peña.
Just three minutes later Carlos Bacca added a second. The Colombian striker tucked away a generous assist by Toko Ekambi, who drove the ball across the face of Comillas’ goal for his strike partner to convert.
It was Bacca again who made it three for the Submarine after the break. Baena provided the assist for the Colombian to net a brace. Seconds later, Santi Cazorla conjured up a magical strike from the top of the box, curling the ball inside the far post and out of the Comillas’ keeper’s reach. The magician, who received a standing ovation upon entering the field of play in the second half, left his mark at Las Gaunas.
In the 84th minute, Carlos Bacca had the final say. The Colombian scored a hat-trick and made it five for Villarreal in the first round of the cup. Not a bad start.
Lineups:
Comillas CF: Borja Pérez; Ángel, Víctor, Adrián, Campo; Rodrigo, Pastor (Javi Gonzalo, m. 78), Edu (Juanpa, m. 55), Pablo; Borja (César, m. 66) and Javi Jadraque.
Villarreal CF: Andrés Fdez.; R. Peña, Pau (Mario, m. 45), Funes Mori, Migue; Lozano (Álex Baena, m. 64), Morlanes, J. Ontiveros, Leo Suárez; Bacca and Toko Ekambi (S. Cazorla, m. 64).
Goals: 0-1. Min. 30: Leo Suárez. 0-2. Min. 33: Bacca. 0-3. Min. 74: Bacca. 0-4. Min. 77: Cazorla. 0-5. Min. 84: Bacca.
Referee: Prieto Iglesias. Booked: Ángel for Comillas.
Information: Match between Comillas CF and Villarreal CF corresponding to the first round of the Copa del Rey 2019/20 played at Las Gaunas.
