The Submarine put in a strong performance on their league debut and earn a valuable point against Los Rojiblancos
It ended all square on the night between Villarreal CF and Atlético de Madrid (2-2). The Yellows and Los Rojiblancos cancelled each other out in an end-to-end game where the home side took the lead twice before Los Colchoneros quickly drew level. Arnaut Danjuma opened the scoring before Marcos Llorente equalized. Koke’s own goal saw Marcelino’s side take the lead, before Alexander Sorloth tied the scoring just before the break.
Marcelino García Toral’s team arrived at the Estadio de la Cerámica full of confidence for their first fixture of the LALIGA EA Sports 2024/25 season against one of the most famous sides in the league, Atlético de Madrid.
Roared on by the supporters, the Yellows flew out of the blocks, moving the ball quicky. The Yellow Submarine looked to take control of the game with their high intensity.
Despite the home side’s strong start, Atlético de Madrid came closest to breaking the deadlock. With 12 minutes on the clock, Samuel Lino met a fantastic cross from the right-hand-side, but his header was met by a flying Diego Conde save to turn the ball behind.
On the quarter-hour mark, Villarreal took the lead through a brilliant Danjuma strike. The Netherlands international beat Axel Witsel in a foot race, raced into the area and fired an unstoppable left-footed effort into the far corner.
However, the Yellows’ joy was short-lived. Marcos Llorente broke clear down the right hand side and unleashed a fierce left-footed drive past Diego Conde into the roof of the net.
It was all square at La Cerámica. But not for long. Just before the 40 minute mark, the Yellow Submarine were ahead again. Álex Baena’s whipped cross he left caused confusion in the Atlético defence, before the ball ricocheted off Koke into his own net. 2-1 for the Yellows.
The first-half action did not end there. The last action before the break saw Atlético draw level again from a familiar source. A dangerous cross from Pablo Barrios found Sorloth in the box, who turned home to make it 2-2.
The second half saw both sides continue search for the lead, and the intensity did not drop. The first chance fell to Álex Baena. The central midfielder’s magnificent free kick looked to be heading for the top corner, but it curled just past the post.
As the minutes ticked by, fatigue started to take its toll on the players. Both coaches turned to their respective benches to turn the match in their favour. Nicolas Pepe, Pape Gueye, Ayoze Perez and Ilias Akhomach all came on for Villarreal. The changes breathed new life into the Yellow Submarine, as they searched to go ahead late on.
After a titanic effort from the two teams, the referee blew his full-time whistle, with the points deservedly being shared at La Cerámica.
