Villarreal earned a draw at Elland Road in a match that saw Mouriño make his debut and Etta Eyong get on the scoresheet
The Yellow Submarine picked up another pre-season draw after holding Leeds United to a 1-1 stalemate at Elland Road. It was a preparation match in which Santiago Mouriño made his first appearance in yellow, and the Villarreal goal was scored by Etta Eyong.
The starting line-up featured a notable inclusion. Santiago Mouriño, whose signing was made official last Friday, made his debut at right-back, with Foyth and Rafa Marín pairing up in the heart of the defence.
The first big chance for the Yellows came through Yeremy Pino. The No.21 broke through on goal after receiving a defence-splitting pass, but Darlow denied him with an excellent save in the 17th minute.
Marcelino’s men looked solid at the back and tried to break quickly on the counter, using the movement of their attacking players. Their next big opportunity in the first half came when Gerard’s header was kept out by a difficult save from Darlow in the 44th minute.
Villarreal took the lead in the 62nd minute. Cardona broke free down the left flank and crossed for Gerard, whose header was brilliantly stopped by Meslier. Etta Eyong pounced on the rebound to fire into the back of the net (0-1).
Leeds equalised just five minutes later when Piroe latched onto a loose ball in the box to score (1-1, 67’).
From then until full-time, the match was evenly balanced. Denis Suárez had a chance to win it, but his powerful strike flew over the bar.
Villarreal’s next pre-season friendly will be on Wednesday 6th August against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium (7pm CEST).
Match information
Leeds United: Darlow; Gudmundsson, Schmidt, Struijk, Rodon, Ampadu, Longstaff, Stach, Gnonto, Aaronson, Nmecha.
Also played: Piroe, Bijol, Gruev, Meslier, Ramazani, Tanaka, Gray.
Villarreal CF: Luiz Júnior; Mouriño, Foyth, Rafa Marín, Sergi Cardona; Pepe, Gueye, Comesaña, Yeremy; Gerard, Etta Eyong.
Also played: Diego Conde, Parejo, Buchanan, Moleiro, Pau Navarro, A. Alti, Danjuma, Denis Suárez, Pedraza, Cabanes, Valou.
Goals: 0-1, min. 62: Etta Eyong. 1-1, min. 67: Piroe.
Referee: Sam Barrot (ENG).
Stadium: Elland Road.
