A clinical and determined Villarreal secures three points in Seville
Villarreal showed faith and sharpness to claim a precious three points at the always challenging Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán (1-2). The Yellows, with a first-half goal from Oluwaseyi and a late strike from Solomon five minutes from time, fought, held firm, and were ultimately rewarded against an intense and combative Sevilla side.
The first half-hour from the Submarine was flawless. With a perfect reading of the game, the Yellows exploited the wings to hurt the Andalusians from the outset. In the 12th minute, Oluwaseyi found himself one-on-one with Vlachodimos and unleashed a well-placed shot, only for the Greek goalkeeper to pull off a spectacular save with his leg.
Four minutes later, Villarreal opened the scoring. Rafa Marín, with pace, delivered a clever lofted pass to Cardona, who pushed towards the byline. In a brilliant move, the left-back left the Sevilla defence behind and set up a perfect cutback for Oluwaseyi, who made it 0-1.
After the goal, Sevilla, previously struggling for rhythm, regrouped. The home side pushed higher, dominated possession, and began to probe around Arnau Tenas’ area. To make matters tougher for Villarreal, Comesaña, a regular starter, was forced off through injury.
The equaliser came in the 50th minute. Following a short cross and some chaos in the box, Sow capitalised on the ball at the edge of the area, firing a powerful strike to make it 1-1.
Sevilla continued to control the game in the following minutes, though without creating clear chances. In the 75th minute, Villarreal went close with a sublime chip from Pepe, but the Greek goalkeeper tipped it over with his fingertips.
Five minutes from time, the Submarine struck again. A brilliant counter led by Mikautadze, who shrugged off his marker in the box, delivered a precise assist to Solomon, who finished with a calm, mid-height shot.
The hosts pressed in the final moments and had a big chance through a fierce Mendy strike, but Arnau Tenas pulled off the save of the match with an incredible stretch.
Villarreal will next face Athletic on Saturday 27th September on Matchday 7 of LALIGA (Estadio de la Cerámica, 9pm CEST).
