Villarreal U19s defeated Borussia Dortmund 1–2 with goals from Hugo López and Unai Rodríguez and sealed qualification for the next round with one matchday to spare
Villarreal U19s mathematically qualified for the UEFA Youth League Round of 32 after beating Borussia Dortmund in a match marked by the low temperatures at the German club’s training centre. The Yellow Submarine’s goals came from Hugo López and Unai Rodríguez (1-2).
Pepe Reina’s side arrived at this penultimate matchday of the league phase with their homework done and just a single point away from mathematical qualification thanks to three wins in their previous matches.
Barely three minutes had been played when Villarreal U19s already had their first big chance. Palomares’ header was unbelievably kept out by Held with an acrobatic save.
Soon after came the opener. In the ninth minute, a magnificent attacking transition down the right wing ended with Aran Vidal firing in a low cross for Hugo López, who got ahead of his marker and finished first time. A superb goal.
Borussia also had their moment with a powerful effort that crashed against the crossbar, although Pepe Reina’s side were clearly the better team in the first half. In fact, the Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper became his team’s best player in the opening 45 minutes.
In the second half, the hosts pushed hard in search of an equaliser, but ran into a well-organised Villarreal defence. Pau Polo also produced a great save to deny the German side.
Borussia eventually levelled through Tanyi, who pounced on a loose ball inside the box to make it 1–1 in the 73rd minute.
Just when it looked like the match would end in a draw, the late winner arrived. Moussa Traoré reached the byline, cut the ball back and Unai Rodríguez was there to send it into the back of the net in the 88th minute.
Villarreal U19s will now close out the league phase against Copenhagen at the Mini Estadi of the José Manuel Llaneza Training Ground in the sixth and final matchday on Wednesday 10th December. Their Round of 32 opponent in the UEFA Youth League will depend on their final position in this phase, so the match against Copenhagen remains very important.
