Villarreal return from the Basque Country with nothing after a good performance against Real Sociedad (1-0)
Not our day. A tidy, hard-working Villarreal, who showed they had clear ideas at all times, returned empty-handed from their visit to the Reale Arena against Real Sociedad, where the Yellows lost by the slightest of margins after a goal from Take Kubo (1-0).
The first 45 minutes were a very even affair. Although the game opened up in the first ten minutes, the first half was one of few chances, probably due to both sides putting in a great first half performance in which they made very few mistakes.
In the 21st minute, Villarreal had the first with a great through ball from Pape Gueye to Barry, who latched onto the ball at full pelt before unleashing a powerful shot that went narrowly wide. Two minutes later, Real Sociedad’s riposte came from the edge of the area with a good shot from Sucic, which also ended up going wide.
As the minutes ticked by, neither team let up and while the Yellows were building up plays from the back to get forward at speed, the hosts were trying to force a mistake and take their chance.
On the half hour mark, Kambwala almost scored the first with a volley with the inside of his head from a corner kick that Zubimendi cleared out of the six-yard box at the last moment. In the 34th minute, Sucic again caused a scare with a powerful shot against the post after a short clearance from the Submarine defence.
Five minutes after the restart came the goal for Real Sociedad. A rebound after an attack from the Submarine saw Take Kubo take advantage of a counter and beat Luiz Júnior after finding himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
In the 60th minute, Marcelino tried to breathe new life into the team with the introduction of Gerard Moreno and Pau Cabanes. The Yellows pushed forward their lines and threw themselves into the box and the decision soon looked to have paid off. After just four minutes, the Catalan combined with Barry to find himself alone in front of Remiro and hit a shot across goal that the home side’s goalkeeper pushed away, with Cabanes narrowly failing to get on the end of the rebound.
The game was opening up for seconds and, in the 69th minute, Luiz Júnior made his best intervention after Sucic’s shot was deflected after touching a defender and that the Brazilian, after making a quick rectification, managed to save.
The moves followed one after the other and, a minute later, Cardona chested the ball down at the far post after a cross to connect with a powerful volley that ended up finding Remiro.
The Submarine kept trying with faith and insistence, but the Yellows were unable to find the net and the scoreboard remained unchanged. Villarreal’s next game will be next Monday against Mallorca at the Estadio de la Cerámica (Matchday 20, 9pm, CET).
