Villarreal come from behind to beat Sevilla with a last-gasp Sorloth strike
Baena appeared, Sorloth and… Sant Pasqual (the patron saint of Vila-real) as it ended 3-2 at La Ceramica. Villarreal defeated Sevilla in the last moment of the game, making an impressive comeback with a brace from the Norwegian striker, who scored the second in the final minute and is now just one goal off the top scorer in the league, and another goal from Mosquera, which made a double from En-Nesyri worthless.
The Yellows were at home to Sevilla in the penultimate game at La Cerámica of the current 2023/24 campaign. After the defeat to RC Celta last weekend, the Submarine’s few chances of reaching the European places depend on winning as many points as possible and keeping an eye on the results of their direct competitors, Real Betis and Valencia CF.
The European situation did not discourage Marcelino’s side, who took to the pitch with hunger, confidence and the desire to open the Sant Pasqual festivities with a win against Sevilla.
In the tenth minute, the Submarine created the first dangerous chance of the match. With a masterful touch in space, Álex Baena created a promising transition to Guedes. The Portuguese forward controlled the ball, stepped into the box and looked for Sorloth. However, his pass went behind him and failed to find the giant Norwegian striker.
Just four minutes later, Ilias Akhomach put in a cross into the box in search of the Yellows’ No.11. Sorloth slipped in between Ramos and Nianzou to head the ball home. Unfortunately, his shot went wide of Nyland’s goal.
Halfway through the first half, Sevilla FC were awarded a penalty for a handball by Kiko Femenía, the result of an unfortunate mistake in an action in which the Alicante-born player had his back turned and the cross from the right was not particularly dangerous. From 12 yards, En-Nesyri beat Jorgensen, who, although he guessed the trajectory of the shot, was unable to save the Moroccan striker’s precise shot.
The 0-1 scoreline at La Cerámica was short-lived. In less than five minutes, Villarreal found the equaliser. On the half-hour mark, Cuenca delivered a superb cross into the box, where Alexander Sorloth was waiting to fire home an unassailable header and bring the score back to level terms.
On the stroke of half-time, the Andalusians took the lead again. En-Nesyri rose highest in the box and scored his second of the game when he headed home Jesús Navas’ measured cross from the right.
The Yellows started the second half strong, generating danger and creating chances. A minute into the second half, they had a clear chance to make it 2-2. A one-two between Baena and Sorloth on the edge of the area ended with the Almeria player finishing in front of Nyland. The Sevilla goalkeeper saved the chance with an impressive save.
This was followed by a header from Jorge Cuenca, which failed to find the target, from Guedes’ cross from the right. And just before the hour mark, Guedes smashed the ball past Nyland after controlling a superb pass from Baena in the box. Traoré and Sorloth also came close to scoring. With chances, the Submarine were trying to break the deadlock.
It was not until the 84th minute that Villarreal made it 2-2. Ramon Terrats crossed from the left and Mosquera sent it into the net. With the equaliser, Sevilla stretched and had a couple of chances to make it three again. A header from En-Nesyri, who had almost everything on target, and a shot from Lukebakio was saved by Filip.
The referee even made a glaring error when he pointed to a non-existent penalty for an alleged handball by Capoue in the area, when he had struck the ball with his head. VAR had to intervene to put things right and overrule the referee.
In stoppage time, Villarreal scored the third goal in an unlawful position. Ramon Terrats scored the third in an offside position from a corner taken by Baena and extended by Mosquera. But that was not all, in the last seconds of the game Sant Pasqual appeared: Baena put in a cross for Sorloth to score the 3-2 and win the game at La Ceramica.
