Villarreal earn a draw with Atlético de Madrid at one of the most difficult venues to visit in Europe
Villarreal earn a draw with Atlético de Madrid at one of the most difficult venues to visit in Europe
Villarreal earned a point on their visit to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano (1-1). The Yellows held Atletico Madrid to a draw in a hard-fought encounter, with chances for both teams. The Submarine took the lead in the first half, in which they outplayed their opponents, thanks to a Gerard Moreno penalty. In the second half, Samuel Lino equalised to make the score 1-1.
After a magnificent win over RCD Mallorca (4-0), in which the Submarine gave their best performance of the season, the Groguets now visited Atlético de Madrid, second in the LALIGA EA Sports table and still unbeaten at home.
Marcelino’s side were without Dani Parejo and Juan Foyth, who started the first two games of 2025. The absence of the No.10 meant the implementation of a double pivot with Gueye and Comesaña, while Kambwala returned to the starting line-up at the heart of the defence.
Atlético de Madrid threatened in the first minutes of the match. The first chance, in fact, fell to the home side. Julián Álvarez’s fierce cross-shot from the edge of the area was blocked by Luiz Júnior’s fists. From then on, the Submarine changed the script of the game.
In the 27th minute, Villarreal made the first break into the area of the home team. Gerard picked up a loose ball that came from Witsel and before looking to shoot he was brought down by Reinildo. It was a clear penalty. The Submarine’s all-time top scorer took the responsibility of taking the penalty to beat Jan Oblak and put the Yellows ahead with a cross-shot. The goal to make it 0-1 was also the legendary Catalan striker’s 120th for the Submarine.
After the goal from 12 yards, Villarreal experienced their best minutes of the first half. They managed to generate danger and came close to making it 0-2 on several occasions. The clearest chance came from Gerard Moreno, with a somewhat forced header from Álex Baena’s cross. The Catalan’s shot went narrowly wide. It was a pity because just behind him his team-mate at the front, Thierno Barry, was arriving in a better position.
In the 40th minute, the Submarine were back on the attack. Álex Baena stole a promising ball in the home team’s defence and gave the ball to Gerard, who crashed his shot into a Colchonero defender, sending the ball out for a corner.
The last minutes of the first half belonged to Atlético, who searched for the equaliser. With a lot of defensive criteria, the Submarine withstood the onslaught of the home team, preserving the valuable advantage that put them ahead at half-time at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano.
At the start of the second half, Atletico Madrid made a triple substitution to try to change the situation. But Villarreal had the first chance of the second half again. They took advantage of a mismatch to start a counter-attack led by Baena. The No.16 gave the ball to Yeremy, who looked for Gerard to push it into the net. He couldn’t do so, however, as he was prevented by Witsel’s flying challenge.
After this dazzling start, Atlético de Madrid tested the reflexes of Luiz Júnior with a couple of shots from a low angle. One from Barrios and the other from the recently introduced Samuel Lino. It was the Brazilian who equalised in the 57th minute. With some good fortune, the left-footed winger collected a rebound in the box from Luiz Júnior’s back-heeled shot by Ángel Correa.
Midway through the second half, Marcelino moved the bench, bringing on Ayoze, Nicolas Pepe and Denis Suárez to replace Yeremy Pino, Thierno Barry and Gerard Moreno. At 1-1 the game was wide open, with chances for both sides.
Villarreal lost the upper hand as the game wore on, handing dominance to the home side in the closing stages of the game. In the 85th minute, Griezmann had a header that went just wide of Luiz Júnior’s post. Shortly before, Barrios tested the Brazilian goalkeeper with a long-range shot and Samuel Lino tried a shot that failed to find the target.
In the end, the Submarine pocketed a very valuable point from their visit to the red and white stadium, where no LALIGA team has been able to beat Atlético de Madrid.
