Villarreal draws against Napoli with a goal from Pina and goes forward in the UEFA Europa League (1-1)
Immense. Villarreal qualify for the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 after an exciting encounter against SSC Napoli in the legendary San Paolo stadium, which finished in a draw (1-1). The Yellows goal came from Tomás Pina with a shot that struck the top corner. That beautiful goal along with Denis Suárez’s great free kick in the first leg take the Yellows forward in the competition and make Hamsik’s goal count for nothing.
The Submarine could have gone ahead early on in the game with a clear one on one chance. In the 13th minute Soldado played a brilliant through ball which left Bakambu solo against Reina, but the number 17’s shot was met by a great save from Napoli’s Spanish goalkeeper.
Only three minutes later the first goal of the game came in the 16th minute. A long ball was cleared by the Yellow defence but the ball fell straight to Hamsik who met it with a spectacular volley from the top of the area and the ball hit the bottom corner of Areola’s goal. Making the knockout tie equal again.
The Yellows kept looking for goal, winning many corner kicks that they couldn’t seem to convert into a goal. In fact, it was Napoli who came closer to getting on the score sheet again just before half time with a great play in which Martens crossed from the left wing and Musacchio’s clearance came off the woodwork.
In the second half, the Submarine almost equalized in the 56th minute. Rukavina got free on the right wing and put in a driven cross to Bakambu, but Reina once again evaded the French-Congolese striker’s effort.
The reward for the Yellows came in the 58th minute. A long cross fell to the feet of Tomás Pina, who scored a cracker with his left foot that hit the top corner. A fantastic goal from the Yellow number 4 that was worth its weight in gold. Unforgettable.
Napoli went forward desperately because they needed two goals to qualify. From this point on Areola stepped up. The French goalkeeper was immense, a giant between the posts of San Paolo. And so, the score line stayed the same.
Villarreal move forward and will be in the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 draw on Friday at 1pm in Nyon. The Submarine could come up against any of the teams who have qualified for this round, even Spanish teams. The first leg will be played on 10th March and the second leg on 17th March.
Line-ups:
SSC Napoli: Reina; Hysaj, Albiol, Chiriches, Strinic (Maggio, m. 64); David López (Gabbiadini, m. 78), Valdifiori (Jorginho, m. 74), Hamsik; Mertens, Higuaín and Insigne.
Villarreal CF: Areola; Mario, Musacchio, Víctor Ruiz, Jaume Costa; Rukavina (Samu Castillejo, m. 77), Pina (Trigueros, m. 83), Bruno, Denis Suárez, Bakambu and Soldado (Adrián, m. 70).
Goals: 1-0. Min. 16: Hamsik. 1-1. Min. 58: Pina.
Referee: Deniz Aytekin (Germany). Cautioned: Hamsik (m. 24), David López (m. 32) and Jorginho (m. 83) for the locals; Rukavina (m. 24) and Bruno (m. 35) for the visitors.
Stadium: San Paolo.
