Villarreal draw against Huesca and pick up one more point in the fight to stay up
Villarreal drew against SD Huesca at the Estadio de la Cerámica and move that bit closer to staying in the Spanish top flight for next season. As it stands, with three games left to play (nine points), the Submarine sit in 14th place with 40 points. The Yellows are five points above 18th-placed Real Valladolid.
Villarreal were ahead for the majority of the match thanks to a great ‘rabona’ goal by Pablo Fornals, but Chimy Ávila equalised in the 77th minute and sent the match crazy in the final minutes.
Javi Calleja continued to back the side that have put three straight wins together in LaLiga. The only change was the inclusion of Santi Cáseres alongside Santi Cazorla as a second defensive midfielder, replacing Vicente Iborra. With Karl Toko Ekambi and Samu Chukwueze out on the wings, the Submarine aimed to create danger with their speed down the flanks. In the 4-2-3-1, Carlos Bacca led the Submarine from the front.
The tension could be felt in the atmosphere. Both teams were fighting to stay up and put their lives on the line in every challenge.
The match started with a heart-stopping moment. A back-pass to Andrés Fernández fell short and Ávila was through one-on-one against the Yellows keeper, who came out on top with a magnificent sliding tackle to keep it 0-0.
After a number of attempts, the goal to make it 1-0 arrived. Chukwueze used his skill to escape from various defenders and play a low cross from the left, with the ball arriving at Fornals’ feet inside the area. What happened in that moment was magic in a real moment of tension. The Yellows No.8 pulled off a ‘rabona’ which ended up in the Huesca goal. Amazing.
Half an hour had gone by and Villarreal were ahead, but Huesca tried to respond before the break. They had two chances. First of all, Enric Gallego headed just over, while just after, Herrera shot with his left foot, being denied by a spectacular Andrés Fernández save.
After going to the dressing rooms, Calleja changed the shape of the team, lining up the side in a 4-4-2 with Fornals on the left and a Toko Ekambi-Bacca partnership up front.
Huesca managed to equalise in the 77th minute. Moi Gómez played an inch-perfect cross from the right and Ávila scored with an acrobatic effort that Fernández could do nothing about (1-1).
The last few minutes were, of course, crazy. Both teams pushed forward searching for the match-winning goal. Cucho Hernández had a chance for Huesca, but was denied by Fernández from point-blank range.
Villarreal had their best chance of scoring in added times, when Fornals was going through on goal before being taken out by Jorge Pulido, when the Yellows No.8 would have had only Robert Santamaría to beat. A foul and a red card. No doubt about it.
It all ended with a share of the points that allowed Villarreal to move a little closer to achieving their aim of survival. Next up is a match against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu (Sunday, 4:15pm CEST).
Lineups:
Villarreal CF: Andrés; Mario, Álvaro, Funes Mori, Quintillà; Cáseres (Trigueros, m. 83), Cazorla; Chukwueze Fornals, Toko Ekambi (Pedraza, m. 65); Bacca (Gerard, m. 55).
SD Huesca: Santamaría; Miramón (Mantovani, m. 34), Etxeita, Pulido, Galán; Herrera, Moi Gómez; Ferreiro, Chimy Ávila, Juanpi (Melero, m. 61); Enric Gallego (Chucho Hernández, m. 61).
Goals: 1-0. Min. 29: Fornals. 1-1. Min. 77: Chimy Ávila.
Referee: Sánchez Martínez. Booked: Mario Gaspar, Fornals, Toko Ekambi, Cáseres, Quintillà (Villarreal); Galán, Herrera (Huesca). Sent off: Pulido (Huesca, m. 91).
Matchday information: Match corresponding to LaLiga Matchday 35 at the Estadio de la Cerámica in front of an attendance of 17,901.
