Villarreal beat Werder Bremen in their final preseason friendly and are focused on starting the league
Raring to kick off LaLiga! Villarreal took down Werder Bremen (2-3) in what was a great performance by the Yellow Submarine in Germany, where they clinched the win in the final minutes with a goal by Manu Morlanes in added time. The ‘groguets’ made a comeback in the second half against the Germans thanks to the Gerard Moreno-Toko Ekambi connection and the young midfielder’s last minute winner.
Werder Bremen took the lead in the game with a goal by Kruse midway through the first half. The German forward got on the end of a through ball into space and shot over Asenjo to put the home side 1-0 up. After the opening goal the Submarine had their chances to equalise. In the first half, Castillejo and Gerard Moreno had the best opportunities for the Yellows but were both unable to convert to even things up.
Villarreal came out strong in the second half looking to turn the score line around. The Yellows were more intense after the restart and it paid off straight away as they equalised just three minutes into the second half. Pablo Fornals played a great through ball forward to Toko Ekambi, who made no mistake in front of goal, drilling the ball home at the near post.
Villarreal were playing their best football, dominating possession and pinning Bremen back into their half, and they soon got their reward for it. In the 64th minute, Villarreal took the lead through another Toko Ekambi goal. The French-Cameroonian forward finished off some great individual play by Gerard Moreno, who beat two defenders before laying the ball off for his strike partner.
A few minutes from time, Werder Bremen’s Osako equalised for the locals with his head. Villarreal had the final say though. In the last minute, Nahuel brought the ball down in the middle of the box from a good ball in by Pedraza and, after faking a shot, knocked it back to Manu Morlanes on the top of the box. The youngster showed composure beyond his years to fire a well-placed shot into the back of the net to give Villarreal a deserved win.
After victory against Werder Bremen, Javi Calleja’s side draw the curtain on preseason and await their league opener on Saturday 18th August against Real Sociedad (8:15pm CEST).
Lineups:
SV Werder Bremen: Pavlenka; Augustinsson, Moisander, Veljkovic, Selassie; Bargfrede, Klaassen, Eggstein; Rashica, Kainz and Kruse.
Also played: Plogmann, Beijmo, Pizarro, Osako, Harnik, Langkamp, Sargent, Eggestein, Fried, Mbom, Jacobsen and Beste.
Villarreal CF: Asenjo, Mario, Álvaro, Víctor Ruiz, Jaume Costa, Fornals, Ramiro, Layún, Castillejo; Gerard and Ekambi.
Also played: Cazorla, Cáseres, Miguelón, Pedraza, Funes Mori, Morlanes, Raba and Nahuel.
Goals: 1-0. Min 25: Kruse. 1-1. Min. 48: Toko Ekambi. 1-2. Min. 64: Toko Ekambi. 2-2. Min. 87: Osako. 2-3. Min. 90: Morlanes.
Referee: Harm Osmers (Hannover).
Stadium: Weserstadion de Bremen.
