Villarreal comeback against Atlético Madrid in a match to remember
A victory to remember. Villarreal made a comeback against Atlético Madrid in a match that Yellows fans will remember for a long, long time. The side from Madrid took the lead through a controversial penalty, but the Yellows turned the game around at the end thanks to a brace by Turkish forward Enes Ünal.
Atlético Madrid opened the scoring in a controversial manner. Griezmann went down in the box in front of Jaume Costa and the referee pointed to the spot after minimal, if any, contact by the Villarreal left back. The inexistent penalty was taken by the Frenchman himself and he made no mistake, giving Atlético a 0-1 lead. In fact, Griezmann could have been sent off for this as Atlético’s number 7 was already on a yellow card and should have been cautioned for a second time for diving.
The referee’s controversial decision shook the Submarine for a moment and the visitors took advantage to bear down on Asenjo’s goal. Koke threatened to make it two for Atlético as his shot hit the woodwork. Calleja’s side started to press more and more. So much so that Fornals came close to equalising but his shot just missed the mark.
In the second half it was more of the same. Villarreal took control of the possession of the ball against a solid Atlético defence. And this half was not without its controversy either. In the 64th minute Bacca went down in the box after pressure by Giménez. The Yellow number 9 was ready to shoot, but could not get his shot off before the Atlético defender intervened. “Play on”, was all the referee shouted.
The reward for the Yellow Submarine’s hard work and patience came in the 81st minute. Álvaro put in a cross from the right wing and Enes Ünal, who had just came onto the pitch, headed the ball into the far top corner of Oblak’s net. What a goal by the Turk.
Enes’ equaliser spurred the Yellows on and, far from settling for the draw, the Submarine went all out for the epic victory. With the Yellows fans cheering them on every step of the way. A ball into the box was struck toward goal by Bonera and Enes Ünal fired home the rebound. The Turk took no prisoners and the Estadio de la Cerámica went wild. And what a victory it was. With this win, Villarreal are in 5th place in the LaLiga Santander table. Get in there!
Lineups:
Villarreal CF: Asenjo; Mario, Bonera, Álvaro, Jaume Costa; Trigueros, Rodrigo; Raba (Castillejo, m. 78), Fornals (Enes Ünal, m. 73), Soriano (Sansone, m. 62); and Bacca.
Atlético Madrid: Oblak; Vrsaljko, Godín, Giménez, Lucas; Correa (Vitolo, m. 69), Thomas, Saúl, Koke (Fernando Torres, m. 84); Griezmann (Gabi, m. 80) and Diego Costa.
Goals: 0-1. Min. 19: Griezmann, penalty. 1-1. Min. 81: Enes Ünal. 2-1. Min. 92: Enes Ünal.
Referee: Fernández Borbalán. Cautioned: Álvaro, Fornals, Rodrigo, Bacca and Sansone for Villarreal; Griezmann and Giménez for Atlético. Sent off: Vitolo for Atlético de Madrid (m. 93).
Match Information: Match corresponding to Matchday 29 in the LaLiga Santander played at the Estadio de la Cerámica in front of 19,385 spectators.
