Sorloth gives Villarreal the win in the 93rd minute to keep the European dream alive
Villarreal want to keep believing. The Submarine won Sunday afternoon’s match against UD Almeria at the death. In a very even match with little attacking clarity from either team, the Yellows took the win thanks to a goal from Ilias Akhomach in the first half and Alexander Sorloth in practically the last move of the match.
Marcelino opted for a similar starting line-up to the one that earned a point last Sunday at San Mamés. Mandi and Coquelin in place of the suspended Albiol and Comesaña, Alfonso Pedraza on the left flank and Ilias Akhomach on the right flank were the new faces compared to the side that faced the Copa del Rey holders. UD Almeria, who had one of their last chances to stay in the fight for survival in the afternoon clash against the Submarine, were in dire need of a win.
UD Almería imposed a high tempo on the game from the start. Pepe Mel’s side put pressure on the Yellows, who couldn’t easily find Álex Baena and Gerard Moreno, key players in the attacking play.
The Almeria-based side were making an impact down their right flank, where an inspired Marc Pubill was threatening with crosses and long-range shots which, however, did not pose a problem for Filip Jörgensen.
The Submarine began to push forward and so came their first chances at the Power Horse Stadium. First, a combination between Gerard and Sorloth forced Maximiano to do his best to keep out the Catalan striker’s goal. Later, Álex Baena’s long-range effort flew just wide of the post.
The goal finally arrived after an impressive team move started by Alex Sorloth’s back-heel to Álex Baena, who opened up on the left flank, where the ever-threatening Alfonso Pedraza appeared and, after lifting his head, put a low ball to the penalty spot where Ilias Akhomach popped up to fire the ball into the back of the net with his right foot.
Villarreal’s joy was short-lived, however, as in the next move Choco Lozano leapt over Kiko Femenía to head in a cross, giving Jörgensen no chance.
The Submarine did not give up and looked for the goal again to get back in front on the scoreboard. A shot from Ilias from a corner kick by Baena and a deflected header from Sorloth from Pedraza’s cross were the two great chances that the Yellows had before half-time to break the deadlock. However, it was level at 1-1 at the end of the first 45 minutes.
In the second half, the first big chance for the Submarine came in the 57th minute. In a situation with three Yellows attackers in front of two Almeria defenders, Baena, who was leading the counter-attack, opened up Alexander Sorloth who, after putting his left foot together, slipped, which prevented the Norwegian from getting a clear shot off in a very favourable situation to make it 1-2.
Marcelino made some changes as the minutes ticked by. Guedes, Alberto Moreno, Jorge Cuenca, Traoré and José Morales all came on in the second half to bring more freshness to his team in attack in search of the winning goal.
And just when it looked like a draw was going to be the final result, Álex Baena played a killer pass to Alberto Moreno who crossed to the near post, where Sorloth popped up to slot home and make it 1-2 at the death to give the Submarine three points and keep them in the hunt for the European places.
Villarreal CF’s next match will take place on Sunday 28th April at 6:30pm CET against Rayo Vallecano. A new and important match in which the Submarine will need the support of their fans at the Estadio de la Cerámica to get three points that will keep them in the fight for seventh place.
